


Daiki Aomine and the hidden Time-Turner

by EyeOfTheTaiga



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Angst and Humor, Aomine as Harry, Blood and Violence, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Fluff, Happy Ending, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Magic, Mystery, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Quidditch, Quidditch instead of Basketball, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, There is just too much to write about, brace yourselves for the love potion accident, he named his owl Quaffle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2020-03-07 14:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 39
Words: 213,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18874861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyeOfTheTaiga/pseuds/EyeOfTheTaiga
Summary: Daiki Aomine, the chosen one, who wasn't only known for the scar on his forehead but also for his laziness and cocky attitude, was skipping classes almost every day.No wonder people were asking themselves how he could be a pro in quidditch and manage to escape Voldemort every year...But right now, almost in his sixth year, Daiki was drowning in his boredom. Voldemort somehow wasn't showing up and school was as tiresome as ever.Little did he know that his life would be exciting again when Taiga Kagami, a former Durmstrang student who changed to Hogwarts, makes his entrance and turns Daiki's world upside down.Together with his best friends Satsuki, Tetsuya and Taiga who joined their gang, he discovers a dark secret and once again it's Voldemort who's pulling the strings...





	1. Back again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Welcome to the world of Daiki Aomine. I just wanted to say that I don't own any characters, neither from Kuroko no Basuke, nor from Harry Potter. Also, this fic is a mix between both, which means some characters from Harry Potter don't exist here because I replaced them with some from Knb (and the other way around). But whatever, have fun with this story :D

_"Step aside, and I'll spare you."_

_"No! I won't let you kill my son!"_

_"Fine... It's your choice after all..._

_Avada Kedavra!"_

* * *

 

Daiki yawned loudly while standing with his best friend Tetsuya at Kings Cross. Like every year they received weird looks because of their rather interesting baggage. Who the hell brought owls to a train station?! But it was fine as long as no one saw them running through a wall...  
Daiki yawned again, causing Tetsuya to sigh and look at him.

"Please stop it, Daiki. I know you had a hard time with your aunt and uncle, but people will see you differently when you're constantly bored and lazy. You're famous after all."

"Whatever... I didn't want to have that annoying scar in the first place."  
Just to provoke his friend, he yawned a third time and of course, since they were at platform 9¾ now, people were staring at him.

"We should wait here for Satsuki," Tetsuya said and Daiki barely understood him because it was very loud around them. Tetsuya's low presence wasn't helping him either. Even after five years Daiki had to make sure every minute if he was still standing next to him.

Everyone at Hogwarts thought that Tetsuya's mother accidently used an invisibility spell on her son when he was younger and that his presence lacked because she couldn't fix it properly. Of course Tetsuya was denying this theory and Daiki was also pretty sure that it had been Kise who made that up.

"Dai-chan! Tetsuya!"  
It was impossible to miss the small girl with her pink hair in the crowd.

"Ah, good to see you again, Satsuki! Summer was hella annoying," Daiki greeted her and she laughed.

"I believe you. The Dursleys still aren't nice to you, are they?"

"No, but that doesn't matter. They're now at the hospital because they think I've turned Dudley into a frog..." He grinned.

"What?! Have you?!" Satsuki immediately shouted and Daiki rolled his eyes.

"No, of course not... I just locked Dudley inside a Dixie toilet and gave aunt Petunia a frog whom she believes now is her beloved son."  
Satsuki sighed.

"Well, I somehow expected something stupid like that..."

"Hey! It wasn't stupid, it was funny! You should've seen their faces!" Daiki swore he heard Tetsuya giggle in the background.

"Come on now or the Hogwarts Express is leaving without us!" she ignored his last sentence (and the fact that Tetsuya did seem to find it funny.)  
Daiki's luggage cart squeaked when he began pushing it towards the train.

"I hope we get a compartment for us this time. I wouldn't want to cope with those noisy Hufflepuffs from last year again," Daiki grumbled while following Satsuki through the train.

"Don't worry, something's always free," Tetsuya said.

"Sure, but when someone's going to disturb us I'm gonna kick them out," he threatened and glared at a few second years who were ogling him like he was the eight wonder of the world. Okay, he probably was the eight wonder of the world and it wasn't that bad to be famous, but the constant staring was one thing Daiki would love to get rid of.

"No, Dai-chan, stop with those empty threats! You're practically the symbol of Gryffindor right now. Slytherin hates us already and if you're insulting Hufflepuff, they may join them and we're finished! So please be nice and behave!" Satsuki lectured him.

"Okay, okay, fine. But my threats are never empty!"

At least they were lucky and eventually got a compartment only for the three of them. For Daiki it would be the perfect time to sleep now and he'd wake up when Hogwarts was in sight, but of course his friends had other plans. And he also wasn't able to go to sleep when Satsuki's stupid cat Crookshanks kept wandering over his legs. He wanted to shake the damn beast off, but Satsuki would only get mad at him and if he didn't watch out he could arrive at Hogwarts as a cat himself.

"Daiki, do you still remember how we first met?" Tetsuya asked when the Hogwarts Express slowly started to move.

"Tch. Of course, but why remember that all of a sudden?" he grumbled, looking outside of the window where the platform was filled with lots of parents bidding their children goodbye, some of them were even crying. Daiki scrunched his eyebrows, at this moment always wondering how it felt to have someone waiting at home for him.

"It was just funny how you thought you were alone in your own compartment," Tetsuya said and showed one of his rare smiles.

"Yeah, yeah, then you greeted me and I got startled so much that my head collided with the window and I was gone for the rest of my very first time going to Hogwarts. We all know the story!" he continued slightly embarrassed.

"And then Satsuki came in, too because she saw you laying on the ground and thought you ate a gummly jibblebean," Tetsuya added with a straight face.

"A... What?! What the hell is a gummly jibble-whatever-thing?!" Aomine asked confused.

"A bean that makes one dumb, lazy and arrogant at the same time," he explained monotonous.

"What the fuck...? You've just made that up, have you." Daiki knew Tetsuya long enough to see through his facade.

"No, I haven't," he replied and his owl hooted at the same time as to clarify his words.

"Oh, shut up... And you too, Nigou!" Daiki glared at the owl playfully and it was staring right back. He still was amazed how these big blue eyes of the snowy owl resembled Tetsuya's so much.  
Satsuki was trying her hardest to not laugh at that ridiculous staring contest while stroking Crookshanks' orange fur.  
Suddenly another owl began complaining, causing her to look down.

"Oh, Dai-chan! Do you also have an owl now? He's pretty, what's his name?" Satsuki asked and wondered why she hadn't noticed the bird earlier.

"She," Daiki corrects her.

"It's a girl. I bought her with Tetsu in Diagon Alley a few days ago." He picked up the cage with the rather small barn owl and showed it to Satsuki.

"Aw, how cute! What's her name?" she asked excited. Tetsuya snorted in the background.

"Well, uh... her name's Quaffle..." he scratched the back of his head and looked away.

"What?! You called an owl Quaffle?! Are you serious?! That's the most uncreative thing I ever heard from you!"

"You're one to talk! So you wanna tell me Crookshanks is creative?" he contered.

"Whatever, you're way too obsessed with quidditch, you weirdo!"

"And you're too obsessed with books," he stuck out his tongue.

"Please calm down, children," Tetsuya finally interfered.

"Sorry, Tetsuya. But Dai-chan, where's your toad? You always had him with you," Satsuki wanted to know.

"Ah..." he looked a little sad.

"Dudley threw him against a wall, saying he was ugly. That's why I locked this stupid fat pig away in the first place. Since Toady is not with me anymore, I decided to get an owl."

"I'm sorry Dai-chan. Toady was a good toad..."

"Though the name wasn't more creative at all," Tetsuya coughed.

Their conversation went on for the most time. They were talking about this and that, and Quaffle, a very energetic owl, also seemed to like to pester them with her constant hooting. Daiki sometimes looked out of the window and watched how the landscape changed slowly.

"I'm excited to see what first years Gryffindor will get," Tetsuya started with a new theme.

"Hopefully they're not as dumb as the ones from last year," Daiki sighed and he could see Satsuki rolling her eyes without even looking at her.

"Well, they are fine when they're not as stupid as you are," she said.

"Also, we're arriving at Hogwarts soon, so we should change. I'm leaving you alone now!" Satsuki grinned and exited the compartment.

Daiki grumbled while searching for his Hogwarts uniform in his bag. The time always ran away on the way to the magic school. And why hadn't the damn lady with the snacks showed up yet? He at least wanted to eat a few chocolate frogs.

"You excited for quidditch, Tetsu?" Daiki asked.

"Of course. My parents gave me a new broomstick, so I'll be able to catch the snitch in less time," his friend answered.

"Cool, but don't do it too early, I want to have fun as well. I'm going to beat that damn Haizaki into the ground, you'll see. That arrogant Slytherin bastard..." he growled the last part.

"You know you can't tell other people that they're arrogant when you keep your nose this high yourself," Tetsuya sighed and Quaffle hooted for the hundredth time and seemed to agree with the plain wizard.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. And stop betraying me, Quaffle! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I think she's way smarter than you..."

Soon Hogwarts was in sight and the friends got ready to leave the express. They watched how Hagrid took the first years and climbed with them into the boats.

"Ah shit..." Daiki suddenly cursed.

"What's up?" Satsuki asked.

"I forgot my magic wand in the train. Be right back!" he explained and stormed off. He heard Satsuki huffing how much of an idiot he was and that he should hurry up.

The express was already empty when he got back to their compartment. He searched under the seats, when suddenly a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Searching this?"  
Daiki turned around and scowled at the person in front of him.

"Haizaki. Give me back the wand," he demanded.

"So you're still alive, huh? The boy who lived... Tch. I could just throw that piece of wood outside the window..."

"You wouldn't dare!" Daiki launched forwards, but Haizaki stepped back.

"Oh, seems like poor Aomine is going to start his sixth year without his magic wand..." Haizaki grinned in a slimy way. Daiki knew it was over when the bastard actually threw the wand, but suddenly someone else caught it mid air.

"Shougo, we're not that mean, are we..." a velvety voice spoke up behind the Slytherin. Daiki wondered how the dude managed to be here this quickly and catch the wand just in time. He looked closer at him and frowned when he noticed his wand's savior was also a Slytherin. He had grey eyes and black hair that covered his left eye which made him look like an emo. And for a Slytherin (not that Daiki ever would judge a Slytherin...) he was unfairly handsome.

"Mind your own things, Himuro!" Haizaki hissed angrily.

"Now come on, let's all be friends, alright?" That Himuro guy smiled and lied one hand on Haizaki's shoulder. Then he stepped towards Daiki and gave him back the wand.

"Sorry for Shougou's behavior," he said. Daiki squinted his eyes, the smile on the guy's face seemed so fake he could vomit.

"Who the hell are you? I've never seen you at Hogwarts before..." Daiki said, but Himuro's smile didn't waver.

"Is that how you say thank you? But fine, my name is Tatsuya Himuro. Until now my parents have teached me at home, so that's why you don't know me." He extended his hand towards him, but Daiki didn't have any intentions to shake it. The fake smile eventually fell. And when that Himuro looked at him with cold eyes, Daiki knew it was the best thing to not trust him.

"I should have said it would be better for you if we were friends..." The hand remained, but Daiki still didn't move.

"Let's go, Himuro, that's Daiki Aomine you're talking to, he's not worth it," Haizaki interrupted, slicking back his silver hair in annoyance, but Himuro ignored him.

"And?" His voice was somehow threatening.

"Thanks, but I have enough friends," Daiki answered, staring down on him. Then he turned around and finally left the Hogwarts Express.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." he heard Himuro mutter behind him, but he just shrugged it off and made his way to the castle. He'd be late, but that didn't matter to him.

* * *

 

"Dai-chan, what the hell took you so long??" Satsuki confronted him after he had entered the great hall and took his seat between her and Tetsuya.

"I just met someone I really didn't want to," he answered, looking at the food on the table.

"That's not explaining anything at all!" Satsuki replied, but Daiki wasn't listening to her. Tetsuya slapped his hand away as he tried to steal a grape from the plate in front of him.

"Not until the first years are sorted into their houses," Tetsuya said, looking at him blankly and Daiki groaned. His friend was taking the whole 'in which house do you belong'-thing way too serious. But he knew that Tetsuya was really happy when Gryffindor got newbies. He also had many fans in the years under them because he always helped the younger ones when they got lost or had problems with something.

Daiki leaned back in his chair. He thought it was rather boring to watch the whole ceremony, though he couldn't deny it had been exciting when he had sat on the chair with the talking hat on his head. That was maybe because he was the Daiki Aomine and practically everyone had wanted him in their house. He still remembered what the hat had said to him and his friends.

_"Satsuki Momoi, huh? You're pretty smart, I can sense that. I know that you'd be happy in Ravenclaw, that's where your talents could bloom to their full potential, but there's something else that counts for you... Hmmm, you're biggest desire is to be with your friends, right? For that you'll go through thick and thin! And that's gotta be..._  
_GRYFFINDOR!!"_

_The smile on Satsuki's face was the biggest he'd ever seen._

_"Kuroko Tetsuya." The hat laughed a little._

_"You're so plain, I don't know to which house I should send you. Maybe Hufflepuff is the right choice for you. You're kind and always helping, but there's also a will inside you. A will to prove others that they're wrong and a will to surpass them, and that definitely means..._  
_GRYFFINDOR!!"_

_For once in his life Tetsuya actually looked surprised before he excitedly walked over to the Gryffindors who were cheering and greeting him._

_"So, Aomine Daiki, the boy who lived... I can't deny that I'm excited myself. Let's have a look... It seems like you got a lot of a Slytherin in you, you would fit in there well. Yeah, that would be just right for you!"_

_"No..." the tiny voice of a eleven year old replied._

_"I don't want to go there. I want to be with my friends!"_

_"Are you sure? You could achieve great things in Slytherin."_

_"No, I want to be in Gryffindor. Please!"_

_The hat sighed._

_"If you think that's the right thing for you, then it shall be..._  
_GRYFFINDOR!!"_

_And the cheering was as loud as possible._

"Dai-chan! Snap out of it, you have to say something to our first years!" Satsuki pulled at his cape.

"Ah... What?" He looked around. A few kids looked at him with big eyes. Daiki sighed. Had he been that absorbed in his thoughts that he missed how the first years got sorted? Well, it wasn't that bad, at least he could finally eat something.

"Dai-chan!!"

"Ah... uh, yeah... So, I hope you're doing fine in Gryffindor and kick those fucking Slytherins in the face!" He grinned at the last part when he saw most of them nodding and looking at him like he was the greatest wizard in the world. Of course he got hit by Satsuki a second later for that.

"Please don't listen to him, he has a bad influence on you. Be nice to everyone and collect points for our house," Tetsuya stepped in front of Daiki and gave the children thumbs up, so that the kids were now looking at him with sparkles in their eyes.

Suddenly Dumbledore stood up from his seat and slowly walked up to the podium with the golden owl. Everyone was silent by now and watched him as he turned his voice louder with a spell.

"Welcome at Hogwarts, everyone. Welcome back to the ones who already experienced the magic world and welcome especially to those who are new to everything. Before you are going to enjoy this wonderful meal, I have a few things to announce.

Like some of you noticed, it's our priority to keep our students save. And mainly because of the dark lord and his death eaters the security level has been increased. That's why Azkaban has sent us a few Dementors. Though there's almost no chance that you might encounter one, I have to warn you. Dementors are black-hearted creatures. It wouldn't be wise to anger them." Dumbledore made his words clear when he looked at everyone over his glasses. His gaze seemed to linger on Daiki a bit longer before the old wizard smiled again.

"Let's change to something else. Aside from our new first years, we also got two new students older than eleven at Hogwarts. Firstly, we have Tatsuya Himuro, an amazing wizard who took lessons at home until now. But he decided to spend his last year before adulthood at Hogwarts. Being already sorted, I'm sure he's going to be an enrichment for Slytherin!" Dumbledore motioned towards the Slytherin table where Himuro stood up. Everyone clapped, well, except Daiki who was glaring at him. There was something that told him he should avoid this guy.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat, so that everyone was looking at him again.

"The other one isn't here yet due to an incident. But I'm sure he'll come through this door every second."  
In the same moment as he ended his sentence, the door to the great hall was pushed open. And once again it was proven that Dumbledore was omniscient.

Daiki watched how a boy around their age slowly glanced inside the hall before making his entry. He looked kind of unique with his vivid red hair that seemed to be two colored. His blood red eyes studied his surroundings nervously and it looked like he wasn't fond of all the attention given to him. He wore a simple black cape without the symbol of a Hogwarts house yet.

"Please welcome Taiga Kagami, a former student of Durmstrang who changed to Hogwarts for his sixth year!" Dumbledore spoke and everyone was whispering as they heard the name of the wizarding school in north Europe.  
McGonagall smiled at the redhead when he finally reached the chair with the talking hat. The whispering still hadn't died down.

"Durmstrang? Seriously? I bet he's going to be in Slytherin..."

"From Durmstrang... The school doesn't have a good reputation, I heard the headmaster is a death eater."

"They teach their students dark arts there, have you known?"

Daiki clicked his tongue. Why was everyone so fast to judge that Kagami? True, he wasn't really a fan of Durmstrang himself, but the redhead somehow seemed like a lost puppy with all the others staring at him. Daiki felt almost sorry for the guy. He knew how it was to walk down the long way to the chair with every pair of eyes on him.

Kagami carefully sat down with the talking hat on his head. It somehow looked funny how a sixteen years old wore it instead of an eleven year old. Not a second later, the hat opened it's eyes.

"Oh?" it spoke.

"Interesting. Indeed, very interesting. From Durmstrang you say? Hmm... you know a lot of spells students are just allowed to read about. Your soul definitely belongs in Slytherin, but your heart tells me something else. You're frustrated. Frustrated about something I will not reveal here and this frustration keeps pushing you forward. You're determined to make new friends and get rid of every evil creature that could threaten them. You're kind, you always try to do the right thing. And most importantly you do everything to reach your desires without giving up once. Those are clear signs for...  
GRYFFINDOR!!"

The gasps were louder than the cheering, but it seemed like that doesn't matter to Kagami, because he smiled dazzlingly at the Gryffindor table where most of the cheers came from. As he walked over to them, Daiki almost wished he could sit next to him. He got the feeling that they were similar in a way.

"He looks nice, don't you think?" Satsuki asked when they watched Kagami taking a seat a few places away from them.

"Maybe we should help him to get used to Hogwarts."

"Yeah..." Daiki agreed without looking away.  
Dumbledore then announced they were allowed to enjoy the food now and still, it was the highlight of Daiki's day.

After everyone had finished eating, the students were making their way to the common rooms. A few yawns were heard during the rather complicated walk with turning stairs and ghosts who liked to annoy them.

Daiki threw his stuff on his bed as soon as he entered the sleeping dorm. He sure was tired as hell, but also happy to be back again. He had missed Hogwarts so much the time he had to be with the Dursleys.  
Daiki immediately fell asleep after changing. The lessons were going to be boring as always, but he was looking forward to his first quidditch match.

* * *

 

When Daiki opened his eyes the next morning, the first thing he saw were strands of red hair, mostly hidden by the covers in the bed next to him. He was confused for a second. Wasn't Susa normally sleeping there? But then he remembered that Susa was done with Hogwarts since last year. Daiki hadn't really known him in person, but he had been a good Chaser in quidditch.  
The redhead he saw could only be Kagami with his odd colored hair. Daiki wanted to know how he'd do in quidditch. Maybe he should ask him some time.

During breakfast, they firstly talked to each other. It seemed like Kagami was a little stupid, so he still got lost this morning although he just had to follow the others down to the great hall. It occured that Tetsuya had found him desperately trying to open a door that wasn't even there in the first place. The two of them quickly befriended each other and Daiki was a little jealous.

"Ah Taiga, those are Daiki and Satsuki, my best friends," he introduced them and Kagami smiled widely.

"Cool, nice to meet you, I'm Taiga Kagami!"

"We know," Daiki said while biting into his toast.

"Don't be rude, Dai-chan!" Satsuki scolded him and then also smiled at Kagami. The redhead sat down between her and Daiki and also grabbed a few toasts.

"You play quidditch?" Daiki asked, still stuffing his mouth.

"Uhm, yeah, I do!" He looked at him excitedly.

"And? You any good?"

"I guess, yeah..." Kagami scrunched his eyebrows, slightly confused why Daiki didn't seem that friendly.

"Alright. We need a new Chaser, so come to the quidditch court the day after tomorrow."

"Hey, Taiga, since you're from Durmstrang, did you play with Viktor Krum?" Satsuki asked him.

"Yes, I actually did," he laughed.  
"He's an incredible seeker. Our matches were amazing!"

"Whoa, that's immense! You played with Viktor Krum, the quidditch star from Bulgaria?!" Furihata, one of the Beaters of the team interfered.

"Ts, that Krum is nothing. I could crush him with one hand," Daiki said, causing Kagami to look surprised.

"I don't think so. Who are you to say something like that?"

"What?! You don't know who I am?! Are you fucking serious?" Daiki growled. That Kagami guy really had to be a helpless case when he didn't know him.

"Uh, Daiki Aomine, right...?  
...  
The Daiki Aomine?!"

"Yeah, the Daiki Aomine!" he repeated and glared at Kagami a little, but his face morphed into surprise when the redhead looked at him like he had won the house cup.

"Wow! I would've never thought I'd meet you! You're so cool!"

"Taiga, please don't say that to him, he'll become only more arrogant," Tetsuya said.

"What the hell, Tetsu?!"

After that, they finally began to eat. It was kind of amazing how Kagami used to devour his toasts. He ate much of them, veeery much to be precise and he just ate like he didn't know how to. First, he stuffed a few in his mouth, then he chewed once and gulped everything down while already grabbing the next eatable thing. Daiki watched him in awe.

"So... why did you decide to change from Durmstrang to Hogwarts?" Satsuki asked him, when he was done gulping the pumpkin juice.

"Ah, I don't like the cold. And you can believe me, it's very cold up there," he explained and added "man, this food is good, not the frozen drinks we got at my old school."

"Where is Durmstrang by the way?" Daiki asked.

"No one really knows. It's in no map because it's a secret."

"You don't know where your own school is, you loser?"

"Who are you calling a loser?!" Kagami snapped.

"You, because you are," Daiki teased him and enjoyed how Kagami got angered.

"Calm down, both of you!" Satsuki sighed.

"We have Charms class with Ravenclaw now. Let's go," Tetsuya added and all of them stood up.

"I have the feeling I am going to get lost about a hundredth times more..." Kagami sighed, when they used a shortcut through a portrait.

"Don't worry we'll help you, right, Dai-chan?"

"Yeah, sure..."

"You can also ask ghosts, when you're not with us. Most of them are friendly," Tetsuya recommended.

"Ghosts?!" Kagami shuddered.

"What, you've never seen one, Bakagami?"

"No, we don't have them at Durmstrang and don't give me weird nicknames!" the redhead shouted the last part.

"I'll call you whatever I want," Daiki replied.

"You're really not as cool as I used to think..." Taiga huffed.

They made it just in time to Charms. Professor Flitwick stood on his pile of books like every year. Kagami was a bit weirded out because he'd never seen such a small teacher before.

"Today we're learning 'Depulso'. It's a spell with whom you can push things away. It's so strong that you can move rocks as big as dragons out of the way. This also works with people, but please refrain from doing this here," the professor said. He paired the students up and ordered them to push their tables away with Depulso.

"So, how do we do this?" Kagami asked Daiki who was supposed to work with him.

"The hell should I know?" he growled in response. The other narrowed his eyes.

"I don't really like your tone..."

"Do I look like I care?"

"What's wrong with you, what have I done to you?" Kagami snarled. So he was the type to quickly start a fight, huh?

"Nothing, but you're not interesting either, so I'll treat you how I want," Daiki answered.

"You're such an arrogant prick, you know that?" The redhead tried to keep his voice down which wasn't really working.

"Stop! What are you two doing there? Five points deduction for Gryffindor!" Professor Flitwick suddenly shouted, causing everyone to look at the two.

"Everyone, keep going," the small professor sighed after a few students laughed at Kagami and Daiki.

"Congratulations, Bakagami," Daiki hissed and got ready to dodge because his partner looked like he really wanted to smash his face into the table.

"Dai-chan, Taiga, please get ahold of yourselves!" Satsuki warned them as she pushed her and Tetsuya's table away in an elegant movement.

"Not with this idiot!" they both shouted at the same time.

"At least try to solve the task," Tetsuya said and Kagami sighed. He looked around what the other students did and noticed that not everyone was as good as Satsuki. Most of them only achieved to push the table a foot away from them, some only a few inches.

Can't be that hard, he thought and pointed with his wand at the table.

"Depulso!" Kagami shouted while swinging his wand a little too harshly. Before he could do anything else, the poor table almost flew with unbelievable speed against the wall. There was a loud crash, assuring that the table just died.

"Kind of amazing, Mr Kagami, but you and Mr Aomine have been so disturbing earlier that I can't give you points for that," professor Flitwick said somehow amused.  
Everyone was looking at the redhead as if he had done something great. Which he hadn't really. He'd still been a little angry at Daiki and that had seemed to influent the spell.

"Wow, do you have some special magic wand?" A student from Ravenclaw approached him laughing.

"Huh? Uh, no..." Kagami answered, only causing the Ravenclaw to laugh more.

"I'm Kazunari Takao, nice to meet you," he smiled and made a peace sign.

"Takao, we're in the middle of the lesson and your table hasn't moved one inch!" a deep voice spoke up behind him. That caused Daiki to look up.

"Midorima..." he said darkly.

"You too, Aomine, please concentrate now," Midorima repeated and pushed up his glasses.

"Pfff, come on, Shin-chan. Yours didn't move either. We can't let those Gryffindors beat us, can we?" Takao cackled.

"Kagami, gimme your wand for a second!" The redhead handed it to him a little reluctantly.

"Now pay attention," the small Ravenclaw grinned and aimed at his table.

"Takao, I don't think that's a good id-..."

"Depulso!"  
They watched in horror how the spell did not hit the table but Midorima who was standing close to it. It didn't push him away but the spell flipped him over, so that he landed face first on the ground. Only Takao's laughter filled the silence.

"Haha, amazing, Shin-chan! Kagami, you're wand is really aggressive, I love it!"

"Well, I don't!! You gotta pay for this, Takao!" Midorima shouted as he managed to stand up.

"How did he even end up in Ravenclaw?" Kagami asked a little dumbfounded.

"I'd like to know that too," Daiki answered.

"The lesson is over for today," professor Flitwick announced, a little stressed with all the rumble. His class didn't behave like six years at all...

During the break, Kagami joined Daiki, Satsuki and Tetsuya since he didn't have any other friends at Hogwarts. Of course he told them he was happy to stay with them because he usually wasn't that good in making friends. Daiki was still a little annoyed that they lost house points because of the redhead, but after Satsuki had cornered him and threatened him to curse his poor self, he tried to be nicer to Kagami. It wasn't like the guy was that bad, but he had to earn Daiki's respect first. He also wanted to see how the newbie coped with a challenge. A bonus was that it was funny to see him riled up. But he should keep that to himself.

"How about we show you around a little, Taiga?" Satsuki asked and Kagami nodded.

"Do we really have to? I'm too tired to move," Daiki complained.

"I don't have a problem with you not tagging along," the redhead said.

"Oh, fine, then I'm coming just to annoy you, Bakagami!" Daiki grinned and laid one arm around Kagami's shoulder.

"Get off me!"

"Nope."

The two were about to argue further when Satsuki pointed with her wand at them and suddenly both of them couldn't speak anymore.

"That was a good idea," Tetsuya sighed, enjoying the peace.  
They walked around in the castle, showing Kagami their favorite places. After a few minutes he and Daiki were also allowed to speak again.  
It was just then, that two students appeared Daiki would rather not like to encounter. He nodded to Tetsuya and Satsuki and they seemed to understand, ignoring the two as they passed each other. It would have went well, if Kagami hadn't stopped in his tracks.

"Tatsuya!" he gasped. The two Slytherins stopped walking and turned around.

"Taiga..." Himuro narrowed his eyes and glared at him. Daiki watched him annoyed. That guy was giving off bad vibes. And the other one wasn't better.

"Daiki, long time no see," Himuro's campanion, a small wizard with two colored eyes smiled.

"Uh, yeah..." Daiki responded, not wanting to say something wrong, because Akashi could be scary as hell.

"You," Himuro hissed and Daiki looked at him, but then realized he was talking to Kagami who had a look of despair on his face.

"How pathetic, you're still wearing that?" He motioned towards the ring that the redhead was wearing around his neck.

"Tatsuya, we're still-..."

"No, we're not. Throw the damn ring away, it's disgusting to see you with it. To think we're still brother's..." Himuro interrupted him angrily.

"Please, Tatsuya, I'm sorry, it will never happen again!" Kagami looked like he was about to have a breakdown and whatever had happened between the two of them, Daiki felt sorry for Kagami.

"You can't promise that. Don't get in my way again," Himuro warned him before turning around and walking away. Daiki looked at Kagami and saw him clutching the ring with his hand tightly.

"Brothers, you say?" Akashi asked and the redhead nodded, looking on the ground.

"Well, not really brothers, but we were so close we saw us as brothers. But then we had a... fight and he still hasn't forgiven me," Kagami explained a little sad and Tetsuya patted his back.

"Don't worry, Taiga, you'll eventually make up with him again," Satsuki supported him and the redhead smiled a little, once again happy to have friends.

"Who are you, by the way?" he then asked Akashi.

"Ah, sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Seijūrou Akashi and not like the Slytherins Daiki likes to portray," he smiled.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..." said one whispered to himself and instantly received a threatening look from Akashi.

"So you're Taiga Kagami from Durmstrang? It's a pleasure to meet you, so let's be friends," he directed his gaze at Kagami again and extended his hand. Daiki sure knows what was going to happen next and he was about to interfere when Kagami smiled again and said "yeah, sure." But before he could even shake Akashi's hand, the latter one had pulled out his wand quickly and aimed at the other's eye, not with a spell but with the wand itself. Kagami was able to dodge it just in time, catching Akashi's wrist and holding it in a firm grip.

"What the fuck...?!" he snarled and stared at the small wizard who still smiled at him. It seemed like Kagami overcame his shock which was quickly replaced with anger.

"Heh, interesting. You were better than I expected. I'm sure we're going to meet soon again, Taiga Kagami." The creepy smile still remained on his face as he turned around to follow Himuro. He was almost excited to face the former Durmstrang student again.

"And? Did you manage to stab his eye?" Himuro asked a little annoyed as Akashi caught up to him.

"Surprisingly not. He's different."

"Yeah, I guess he is. There was a reason he changed from Durmstrang to Hogwarts, you know?"

"That would've been my next question," Akashi laughed quietly.

* * *

 

"I told you, Slytherins are kinda weird," Daiki already said for the third time, his arm around Kagami's shoulder again.

"Yeah, I think I got that," the redhead grumbled, still failing to shake Daiki off..

"But that doesn't mean you're supposed to stay away from them. You definitely have to kick their asses!"

"Sure, Dai-chan, always." Satsuki pulled his ear.

"However, what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" she asked Kagami to cheer him up.

"I love it! It's so much brighter than Durmstrang. The classes are also cooler. But I'm mostly looking forward to quidditch," he smiled.

"That's nice, Taiga," Tetsuya said and the four of them chatted for a while before they had to head to Potions. Even Daiki enjoyed himself, which he rarely did when someone was speaking to him.

"I really want to know who we got this year as a professor in D.A.D.A." Satsuki said.

"D.A.D.A.?" Kagami asked.

"Defence against dark arts. It's the most interesting class I'd say," Daiki answered.

"But it's somehow cursed. No professor teached it for longer than a year," Tetsuya added.

"Sounds exciting," Kagami laughed.

"Like I said, Baka. Aren't you listening to the great Daiki Aomine?"

"Most of your words aren't even reaching my ears, Aho," the redhead smirked, earning a light smack on the back of his head, causing him to laugh.

"You sure are cheeky, Kagami," Daiki grinned.

"Just call me Taiga like the others do."

"Alright Tiger!"

Satsuki and Tetsuya both smiled. It looked like Daiki and Taiga would be real friends soon.

* * *

 

"And? Are you going to tell me about the reason?" Akashi asked, sitting in his favorite armchair in the Slytherin common room.

"It's not really something I should talk about, it's a well kept secret after all..." Himuro answered, sitting across from him with a book.

"Now I definitely want to hear it." Akashi pierced through him with his differently colored eyes.

"You're going to be in trouble if you tell anyone." Himuro lowered his voice.

"I won't. What happened in Durmstrang?"

 


	2. About Boggarts and Giants

"Wait... We don't have Snape in Potions? That's going to be a funny year!" Daiki said when the four entered the dark classroom and a new professor was sitting behind the desk.

"But who teaches D.A.D.A. now? Don't tell me..." Tetsuya didn't have to end that sentence.

"Holy fuck. Worst year ever..." Daiki's motivation vanished all at once. Taiga looked a little confused.

"Don't worry, Taiga, you'll understand soon," Satsuki explained to him.

They had Potions class with Hufflepuff now and that wasn't as bad as with Slytherin, but still, Daiki always thought Hufflepuffs were kind of annoying.  
The professor introduced himself as Horace Slughorn who came back to Hogwarts. He seemed to be a funny guy and Daiki found the usually unsympathetic Potion lessons more bearable.

"So welcome to your very first Potions class this year. To test your skills, we're beginning with a rather difficult potion. It is called 'Draught of Living Death'. Sounds scary, right? You'll immediately fall asleep if you drink it and absolutely nothing can wake you up. And today, we're brewing it!"

Each of the students got the ingredients and sat down in front of their boilers.

"Remember to always stir counterclockwise!" Professor Slughorn reminded them while walking around.

"Oi, Taiga, gimme your Asphodel," Daiki demanded, when he noticed he didn't have enough.

"Get your own, stupid," was the rude response and Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Come on, if you're going to use all of it, the potion will explode and you won't be able to play quidditch ever again!" he tried.

"Seriously?!" Taiga stepped back a little startled. Daiki grinned inwardly.

"Yup, now hand some over."  
Taiga stared at him with narrowed eyes, then looked at the instructions in front of him.

"Ha, not true. You think I'm that dumb?" he shouted.

"It could've worked..." Daiki grumbled.

"Don't worry, you can have one of those instead," Taiga grinned evilly and precisely threw a Sopophorous bean in Daiki's boiler.

"Wha-... Are you stupid?!"   
He desperately tried to fish it out with his wand, which wasn't really the best idea.

"Dai-chan, your magic wand is not for stirring!" Satsuki immediately nagged as she looked over to him.

"I'm not stirring! Bakagami threw a fucking Sopophorous bean in my potion!" he shouted and finally managed to get it out. He threw it right back at the idiot whose giggles stopped as it hit his eye.

"You two are unbelievable!" Satsuki sighed and continued with her potion which was almost ready.  
Daiki tried to concentrate on his own and get finally done, but another bean decided to hit the back of his head.

"What the hell?!" he shouted angrily and was about to throw his knife at Taiga, but he also seemed to be surprised.

"Ah, sorry! That wasn't my intention!" A blonde Hufflepuff apologized while picking up the bean from the ground.

"You better don't do that again, Kise!" Daiki growled while rubbing his head.

"No, no, no, no! Of course not!" Kise seemed to become smaller under Daiki's glare.

"Then fuck off and stop disturbing me."

"Ah, Aominecchi, you're so mean," the blonde whined and Taiga furrowed his eyebrows. Kise's gaze suddenly fell on him.

"Hey, aren't you the guy from Durmstrang? I'm Ryouta Kise! You can call me Ryouta of course. But you know me anyways, right? I'm a famous model in the world of wizardry and I'm awesome at quidditch. I also like to-...hhrhrmmpff!!"

"Get lost, no one wants to hear your bullshit!" Daiki interrupted the hyperactive Hufflepuff with stuffing a few Valerian roots in his mouth. Kise eventually backed off with tears in his eyes and Daiki sighed.

"He's... a little complicated, right?" Taiga asked.

"You can say that," Daiki responded while trying to cut his Sopophorous beans.

"Holy shit, that's really impossible!" he cursed as the bean jumped away under the blade, and Daiki was stunned for a second because he'd never thought that beans could fly that high...  
Luckily someone caught it and handed it back to him. Daiki looked up and in front of him stood professor Slughorn, smiling like he was the happiest man alive.

"Daiki Aomine! So I finally get to meet you! Dumbledore has told me you were at Hogwarts and that was maybe the only reason why I came back. You don't get exactly rich from teaching, you know?" he laughed loudly and Daiki still stared at him. The professor suddenly turned serious and laid one hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what happened to your parents, Daiki. But you have the eyes of your mother. Ah, she was such a good student. Beautiful, talented, I was a little envious that she hasn't been in Slytherin where I could have teached her more often," he said. Daiki was a little confused. This teacher really was something else.

"Uh, thanks...sir?" he said hesitantly. The professor laughed again and patted his shoulder.

"No need to be shy, Daiki." He then turned to Taiga who had been watching them.

"And you're the new one, right? Once I also wanted to teach at Durmstrang but that Karkaroff kept denying my candidature. Whatever, I heard they are way more strict than here. I hope Hogwarts isn't too easy for you?"

"Uhm...no, sir..." Taiga seemed to be as bewildered as Daiki.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I'm talking way too much. Let's have a look at your potions. Mmhhh, seems like you have to concentrate a little more, Mr Kagami," he said and then bend over to see Daiki's potion. Latter one was expecting to hear the same, but was only more surprised, when Slughorn's face lit up.

"Oh! Amazing! I've never seen someone putting the exact amount of Sopophorous bean's juice in the potion. It's almost perfect. You only have to do the last step. I knew you'd be good in this! You have the same potential as your mother," he praised him and clapped his hands in enthusiasm. The moment didn't last long when Slughorn's potion radar (every Potions teacher got that in their head) seemed to signal him something that he turned around. And of course it was Satsuki who had brewed the perfect flawless Draught of Living Death.

"Magnificent, absolutely magnificent, Mrs Momoi. I think I've already heard about you from other professors, but you surely are amazing. You're going to be a great witch one day!"

"Thank you, professor Slughorn!" she grinned and reddened a little.

"Damn, it's always Satsuki who gets the biggest compliments," Daiki whispered to Taiga.

"Well, she's just not as lazy as we are. But how the hell did you even manage to make his eyes sparkle with your shitty soup that can't be any different from mine?" he responded.

"I don't know, Baka. I haven't even put a Sopophorous bean in the potion," Daiki admitted.

"What? But he said that was the good thing about your draught!"

"Wait, you don't think that..."

"The bean I threw into your boiler earlier...?"

"..."

"What a fucking treacherous little shit!!" Taiga cursed and Daiki tried to stifle his laughter.

"Pfff, amazing! But thanks Taiga, I really appreciate your help!"

"Shut the fuck up if you want to exit this room with your head still attached to your shoulders!!"

"Ohoo, now I'm scared for life!" Daiki snorted. They stopped bantering when a loud crash followed by a high pitched scream suddenly interrupted the two.

"Murasakibaracchi! Please, it's too early to die! Wake up!!" Kise was kneeling next to an unconscious purple haired giant.

"We have giants at Hogwarts??" Taiga originally hadn't meant to shout that out loud.

"Of course not, stupid!" Daiki hit him while professor Slughorn scooted over to Kise and Murasakibara.

"Sir, I think he ate a Sopophorous bean, sir!!" Kise explained hectically.

"He ate it?!"

"It looked like one of his snacks and he was hungry, so he decided to give it a try... I was about to stop him, but I wasn't fast enough!!" the blonde almost cried.

"By Merlin's beard, I've never had a student before who _ate_ the ingredients for a sleeping potion! He has to be taken to the hospital wing. Mr Kise, you're accompanying me. The lesson is over!" And with that he tried to pick Murasakibara up, which was clearly impossible, so he and Kise both carried him out of the classroom.

* * *

 

Daiki, Tetsuya and Satsuki decided to visit Hagrid during lunch break and Taiga tagged along like always. They had enough time to walk to his hut since Potions class had ended earlier due to the incident with the bean... Tetsuya seemed to be in a bad mood, though one can't really tell by looking at his face, but when Daiki asked what was wrong he said:

"Nothing. I've been just forgotten again. I bet you also didn't notice that I wasn't even mentioned during Potions, although I'm one of the main characters." No one knew what to say to this, so they skipped to another headline.

"Daiki, how comes that you know these weird students from the other houses?" Taiga asked.

"I mean, first that Ravenclaw who broke his glasses while getting hit by a spell from his friend, then that crazy Slytherin who tried stabbing me. And not to forget the unconscious giant and the crying Barbie from Hufflepuff!"

"I keep wondering about that myself every day," Daiki sighed and picked his ear with his wand.

"Ew, Dai-chan, stop that right now!" Satsuki instantly slapped him.

"It's not only Daiki. Satsuki and I know them too," Tetsuya decided to answer Taiga's question.

"In our third year, we had to do a big project together for a whole year. We had to raise a magical creature till it was old enough to live by itself. We were the only group where the project didn't fail and the creature still keeps visiting us sometimes. It's the only thing that connects us."

"Wow. That's cool! Which magical creature was it?" Taiga wanted to know.

"A Pegasus was given to us. It was so cute!" Satsuki responded.

"Wow..." the redhead said again.

"I've never seen one."

"Maybe you will the next time. It sometimes flies around Hogwarts to greet us," Daiki said.

"Wow..."

"Are you broken or something??"

Since the weather was nice, they weren't rushing the long way and the four enjoyed the sun warming them up.

"It's never been that nice at Durmstrang. Seriously, I regret that I haven't started here for my first year. I also would have met you three earlier. If I could, I'd turn the time back for it," Taiga hummed.

"Aw, how sweet of you," Satsuki giggled.

"Yeah, no shit, that was reeaaally sweet," Daiki mocked him.

"I didn't want to hear that coming out of your mouth!"

"If you don't watch out, something entirely else will come out of my mouth."

"Something entirely else is rather going to get _in_ your mouth, if you're not careful," Taiga fired back.

"Oh? You sure are brave to say something like that!"  
Satsuki suddenly cleared her throat.

"Tetsuya and I can also visit Hagrid alone."

"Ah, no, no, no, wait, Satsuki. We're sorry!!"

They've finally reached the small hut with the field of oversized pumpkins next to it. Daiki knocked on the door.

"Oi, Hagrid, you in there?"  
Not a second later they heard a loud rumble and someone opened the door.

"Oh, Daiki! And Tetsuya and Satsuki too! It's been so long," a happy Hagrid patted their heads.

"And who are you?" he then asked Taiga.

"Uh, Taiga Kagami. I'm new at Hogwarts, professor!" Taiga was a little overwhelmed by the size of the actual giant in front of him. Well, at least a half-giant.

"You don't have to call me professor, just Hagrid is fine," he laughed.

"Come in, come in, I'll make tea!"

"Ah, uh, no, thanks. We don't need tea..." Daiki declined hectically as they followed Hagrid inside.   
But of course in the end the four had a steaming cup of... tea each, when they sat at the small table. Since Satsuki once found something similar to a claw inside a cup, they had never dared to touch something made by Hagrid again.   
Of course no one had told Taiga about it and Daiki was ready to laugh at him when he'd drink the tea and spit it out right again, but weirdly, Kagami gulped the whole thing down without making a face.

"At least one of you is enjoying the tea," Hagrid sighed happily.

"Yeah, sorry, we already got one at the castle," Satsuki lied and kicked Taiga under the table when he was about to protest.

"Whatever, how's your first day back, or in your case, Taiga, your first day ever?" Hagrid asked.

"Amazing!" Satsuki and Taiga both said at the same time while Daiki grumbled something and Tetsuya was silent.

"That's good. I hope you're not skipping classes like last year again, Daiki?" he said in a stricter tone.

"It's too bad if the lessons are so boring..."

"Really? I heard this year it's going to be exciting for all of you, also because I am lucky to teach you again!" Hagrid grinned proudly.

"What subject do you teach?" Taiga asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures!"

"Oh, we don't have that one at Durmstrang. I'm looking forward to it!"

"Durmstrang? Oh, right, Dumbledore told me about you. Is it actually true that you..." Hagrid didn't end his sentence when he looked at the others.

"Ah, whatever. It's late already, Snape won't be happy when you're going to be late to D.A.D.A.!"

"So we honestly have Snape in this subject?" Daiki sighed.

"Don't worry, Daiki. You've got your friends. We'll see us tomorrow again, I have to show you something great at our first lesson this year," the half-giant smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for the tea, Hagrid!" Satsuki waved to him and managed to not grimace when thinking about the tea.

"Taiga, you're too kind for your own good," Tetsuya said when they were on their way back to the castle and Hagrid was out of reach.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Taiga looked at him in bewilderment.

"Just tell us how you endured that awful tea," Aomine responded.

"Was it that bad?" He furrowed his brows.

"Hell, yeah! How could you not notice?!"

"I think it was alright. Let's go now," Taiga sighed and walked ahead, only to realize that he didn't know the way.

"Defence against dark arts with Snape as a professor and with Slytherin is the worst thing that's ever going to happen to me," Daiki groaned when they arrived in front of the classroom.

"The worst thing should be that Voldemort is chasing after you, Daiki," Tetsuya reminded him with his monotone voice.

"Tch. That noseless bastard isn't even showing up. Also, he's not that much of a challenge. The things he does are so lame and predictable. I mean, come on, the thing with the Sorcerer's Stone and the diary in the chamber of secrets were pretty dumb, right?"  
Tetsuya sighed.

"At least you're not hiding in fear every day."

"The hell I am," Daiki growled when opening the door to the classroom. He looked a little surprised when there were no tables or chairs inside it.

"Why's there only a closet standing in the corner?" Taiga asked and looked over Daiki's shoulder who was still standing in the doorway.

"Oh, that exactly looks like the Boggart we had in year three with professor Lupin," Satsuki remembered.

"So we're doing this again?? I don't really like these creatures," Daiki said.

"I've never seen a Boggart before," Taiga said.

"Believe me, you don't want to."

Snape wasn't there yet, so they sat on the ground like the other students who already were in the classroom.

"So watch out, Taiga. You'll see soon that Snape is a complete asshole. I'm pretty sure that he's a death eater. I also think that about Haizaki by the way," Daiki said while poking the ground with his magic wand.

"Dai-chan, that can't be, we had that already. He's too young to even join them," Satsuki replied.

"She's right, Daiki. Though I'm happy you haven't decided to use your invisibility cloak during our way to Hogwarts, sneaked in his compartment and eavesdropped, causing you to get a broken nose in the end because he found you," Tetsuya said.

"What the heck? How did you even assume something like that?!" Daiki groaned in annoyance and Taiga looked like they were speaking another language he couldn't understand.

Snape entered the classroom, his cape flying behind him, and everyone immediately stood up.

"For your first D.A.D.A. lesson we're repeating a few things you may have forgotten. You already had Boggarts with professor Lupin, but this one is way stronger. You all should be able to have remembered the spell, so row up before I open the closet," he ordered with his stern voice and walked over to the rumbling closet.

"It can seriously hurt you this time, but I'm going to let this situation to yourselves. Everyone who wants me to interfere has to count with a bad grade," Snape informed them and unlocked the doors to let the Boggart out.

"What is it for a spell??" Taiga whispered to Satsuki, slightly in panic. Luckily, they were almost at the end of the row.

"Just say 'Riddikulus' when your Boggart shows up," Satsuki responded as quiet as he was, because she knew that Snape liked to use everything to reduce Gryffindor's points.

"What? What does that mean, _my_ Boggart?"

"No talking right now!" Snape interrupted them and Satsuki just looked at Taiga as to say "you'll see".

The first student who had to face the Boggart was Fukuda, a Gryffindor that didn't stand out much, Daiki thought whenever he saw him and had forgotten his name once again.  
Everyone was focused on the closet when a hand pushed the doors out of the way. And out of it walked Riko Aida, a Ravenclaw in year seven, glaring angrily at Fukuda who stepped back a little.

"Fukuda!!" the fake Riko growled.

"I'm that kind to teach you the basics of quidditch and you're just too dumb to get it right. You're so worthless, you don't even have the right to fly on a broomstick!!" She rushed towards him and surely was about to punch him when Fukuda finally used the spell.

"R-riddikulus!!" he shouted and Riko was suddenly as small as a mouse. That earned the Boggart a few laughs from the students and it seemed to be confused.

"Next one," Snape announced and Haizaki stepped in front of the creature, seeming way too smug. Daiki couldn't do anything but to scowl at him. He hoped that this damn prick would shit his pants in fear.

The Boggart looked up at him and began to change its shape. Not a second later there stood a Banshee right in front of him. Daiki was sure that the heart of every student in the room skipped a beat as they watched the gruesome creature directing its gaze at them. Then it opened its mouth and let out such an abnormal and horrifying scream that a few had to cover their ears. Even Haizaki flinched and was shaking a little as he directed his wand at the Banshee.

"Riddikulus!"   
The torn grey garment of the death fairy suddenly turned into a pink dress which didn't make her look that scary anymore.

"Very good, Mr Haizaki," Snape praised him, but his voice remained cold.  
The students went on with the task and Daiki found himself almost at the beginning of the row soon, in front of him only Akashi and Tetsuya. He noticed that the latter one was a little nervous, not knowing what he'd have to face in a few seconds. To his horror, the Boggart transformed into his mother.

"Tetsuya?" she shouted and looked around as if she was searching him.

"Tetsuya, where are you?" It was like she was looking right through him.

"Come on, Tetsuya, I don't always have time to search you."

"I- I'm right here!" the small boy shouted, but his mother didn't hear him.

"Tetsuya, please show me where you are..."

"Mom...!!"   
Daiki exactly knew what face his best friend made right now.

"Use the damn spell, Tetsu! That's not your real mom. She'd never do something like that!" he allowed himself to shout. It worked and Tetsuya snapped out of it when he heard Daiki's voice.

"Riddikulus," he said after clearing his throat and made his mother smaller, like Fukuda did with Riko.

"Fine, but five points deduction for Gryffindor for the shouting, Mr Aomine," Snape commented and Daiki had to hold back from cursing loudly and glaring at the damn snake with his oily hair.

The next one was Akashi. He looked very calm at first, but Daiki could tell he was as scared as himself as the Boggart suddenly turned into no other than Voldemort. He shuddered and many people inside the room let out a few screams. Voldemort raised his magic wand slowly and was about to curse Akashi, but the small redhead was quicker.

"Riddikulus!" The fake Voldemort was turned into a blindworm with glasses and... a nose, that looked really odd on a snake. Akashi smiled a little and went to the side where all the other ones who were done with the task stood and watched, making space for Daiki who breathed in before confronting the Boggart.

When it began morphing, Daiki thought it was going to be a swarm of bees first, but he had been wrong. In front of him was hovering a Dementor instead.

"Fuck..." he hissed and stumbled backwards. So it was the same since year three. He still hadn't overcame the fear. The worst thing was that he wasn't seeing a Boggart, but a real Dementor which triggered his reflexes to just shout "Expecto Patronum!!" instead of "Riddikulus".

A silver fog arose from his wand and formed into a black panther. The animal was running through the air, leaving particles of the fog behind it and roared at the Dementor. The creature instantly backed off and hid inside the closet, the Patronus dissolved into air shortly after.

Snape was looking at him like he wanted to remark that he hadn't done the task like it should have been done, but he couldn't do so, since Daiki successfully willed the Boggart away. He positioned himself next to Tetsuya to see how the rest of his classmates we're doing.

Satsuki was next and Daiki expected the Boggart to turn into professor McGonagall, telling her that she failed all her tests, but to his surprise he had to watch how his own corpse fell out of the closet on the floor. Satsuki let out a high pitched scream that resembled the Banshee's a little too much.

"Dai-chan!!" she shouted in shock, her lips quivering and Daiki suddenly felt bad for her. Satsuki cared for him too much.

"Don't worry, Satsuki, I'm still alive!" he tried to calm her down, but jumped himself, when his corpse began moving.

"Waah, no! Please Satsuki, I'm not a zombie!!" Daiki winced and watched how his dead self slowly stood up and approached the pink haired witch.

"Riddikulus!" she shouted with tears in her eyes that she brushed away quickly. Daiki's corpse suddenly wore the uniform of a muggle high school girl. She hadn't even spared him with adding make up on his face. Daiki groaned and wanted to sink into the ground when he heard everyone laughing.

"Nice skirt, Aomine, can I date your corpse?" Haizaki smirked at him.

"My corpse's way too beautiful for you, so date your shitty Banshee girlfriend," Daiki mocked him.

"Silence, we're not done, yet!" Snape calmed everyone down. The row was pretty short by now and at the beginning was Furihata, tripping on his feet nervously. He squeaked when the Boggart suddenly turned into professor Snape himself. There were students giggling already, so the fake Snape was a little insecure, but still approached Furihata, looking at him threateningly.

"Ri-Riddikulus!" he stuttered, causing the Boggart to wear the clothes of Furihata's grandma, including the fancy head with the bird on top of it. The laughter increased and the real Snape had to scream through the whole class that they were all going to detain. Of course this was the best method to silence the whole class in a blink of an eye.

Himuro was the one who was standing in front of the magical creature now, Taiga right behind him. The Boggart also transformed into a corpse like it did during Satsuki's turn. Daiki was sure he hadn't imagined the look of horror and desperation crossing Himuro's face for a second, as the pale corpse walked over to him. The neck of the dead body was brutally torn and blood, that shouldn't be there, ran down the emaciated shoulder blades. After losing the control over his poker face for a few seconds, Himuro remained in his calm stance and performed the spell in an elegant way, turning the Boggart effectively into a red puddle. He then turned around and joined Haizaki at the side, close to Snape.

Taiga was one of the last students who had to confront the creature and Daiki was curious to see what his Boggart would look like. When the redhead stepped in front of it, the puddle that Himuro had created morphed into the shape of a person and everybody began whispering when it clearly transformed into a second version of Taiga. Daiki watched the situation startled. He would have never guessed something like that. It wasn't even making sense, he thought.

Taiga on the other hand, seemed to be extremely horrified. He frantically stumbled backwards, holding his wand in front of him and Daiki almost feared that it would slip out of his hand because he was shaking so much. He focused on Taiga's copy again. They really looked the same. Hands in the pockets of his cape and a cold stare plastered on his face, the clone walked up to Taiga who was standing with his back to the door already.

"Ri-Riddikulus..." he said, but nothing happened. Daiki noticed that the eyes of the Boggart were somehow different from Taiga's.

"Riddikulus!!" Again, nothing. It sure was kind of unfair that the redhead was the only one who hadn't faced a Boggart before. Heck, he didn't even know how to use the spell since no one explained it to him.

The redhead panicked, and seeing no other way out of the situation, he used a spell that Daiki never heard of before. Neither did everyone else in the room, as they had to watch how Taiga's copy suddenly lost all its limbs and fell to the ground. The crowd gasped and a few screamed as blood began covering the floor. Snape's eyes widened for a second, before he quickly marched over to Taiga and grabbed him by the collar.

"We never, NEVER use such spells at Hogwarts!! Are we clear, Mr Kagami??!" No one had ever heard Snape screaming that loudly.

"Out of the classroom!! NOW! I'll have to talk with professor Dumble-..." He wasn't able to end his sentence due to a hand that was laid on his shoulder from behind. Snape turned around slowly and everyone could hear his breath hitching when there stood a beautiful women with tears in her eyes. It didn't take Daiki long to recognize the person the Boggart changed into and his knees suddenly gave in.

"Mom..." he whispered trembling. Snape looked at him for a second and Daiki saw an expression in his eyes he had never seen before, nor could he define it.

"Riddikulus," the professor hissed while looking on the ground and the woman decayed to dust that slowly found its way back into the closet.

"Get out of here. Everyone. Right. Now," Snape mumbled quietly, but it was enough to scare the students out of the classroom in seconds.

"What the hell was that?!" Satsuki shouted as soon as the four arrived in the Gryffindor common room.

"First, Taiga uses dark arts and second Snape's Boggart is Dai-chan's mother??! What's next??!"

"Sorry..." Taiga muttered a little ashamed of himself.

"No, no, don't worry. You probably learn these things at Durmstrang and you didn't know how to help yourself in that moment," Satsuki said, wanting to reassure him.

"But why the hell did the Boggart transform into my mother when it saw Snape!!?" Aomine yelled, angry about the fact he didn't know the reasons for the things that had occured.

"I guess there are a lot of things we still don't know about him," Tetsuya answered, seeming to be the only one who remained calm.

"Tch. Yeah, what an asshole!!"

"Why are you afraid of yourself, though, Taiga. You know you can talk to us," Satsuki grabbed the redhead's hands and made him look at her.

"I want to know that, too," Daiki agreed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You don't have any psychic problems or something?"

"No, God no, it's nothing to be honest," Taiga responded.

"Obviously not. But it's on you to decide when you're ready to tell us," Satsuki sighed.

"Yeah..."

"Oh man, so much action on our first day back, God I need sleep!" Daiki groaned.

"You'll miss dinner, Daiki," Tetsuya reminded him, but Daiki just waved him off and vanished into their dorm.

"I'm sorry that your first time at Hogwarts is such a disaster," Satsuki sighed, and placed a hand on Taiga's shoulder.

"It's fine. Charms and Potions were pretty fun. It was nice to get to know Hagrid and of course I'm glad I've met you all," Taiga replied.

"We're happy to hear that, Taiga. Are you at least going to join us for dinner?" Tetsuya smiled at him.

"Ah, I guess I'll pass for today, I'm pretty tired, so I'll join Daiki."

"Okay. But don't fight, got it?" Satsuki warned him playfully.

"I can't promise anything!" Taiga grinned and followed Daiki.

When he entered the dorm, Daiki already was in his bed, inspecting some kind of a map with the light of his wand. Taiga changed quickly and decided to start a friendly conversation.

"Hey, what are you doing there?" he asked and settled down next to Daiki who looked up to him shortly, before concentrating on the map again.

"Nothing..." he murmured and put the map closer to his face.

"Oh, come on, show me!" Taiga got closer to him curiously.

"You have your secrets, I have my secrets." The map was now covering his entire face.

"Wait, are you pouting?"

"No..."

"Then show me!"

"...Fine." Daiki gave in and sat up, the map in his lap.

"Wow, is this Hogwarts? Wait... there are names with footprints." Taiga bent over to take a closer look, not realizing he was invading Daiki's personal space.

"Amazing! They're moving, too!"

"You're too close, idiot!" Daiki shoved him away.

"Who even allowed you to lay in my bed?!"

"You're mean!" Taiga stated and scooted a little away to prevent Daiki from kicking him out.

"And you're too intrusive."

"Can you at least tell me what for a map that is?" he asked.

"Well, it's called the Marauder's Map. It shows you who is where at Hogwarts in this moment. It's useful if you want to sneak out of the castle without being caught," Daiki answered.

"Cool! Let's do this some time, alright?" he smiled at him and Daiki almost forgot what happened in D.A.D.A., one thought crossing his mind this moment:  
The guy was too pure.

"Ah, sure, if you insist. But don't tell Satsuki."

"Nice!" Taiga grinned, stood up and climbed into his own bed.

"I love Hogwarts," he mumbled into his pillow and Daiki rolled his eyes as the redhead fell asleep the next second. That really had been an exhausting day for both of them. He was still wondering about what happened during Snape's lesson with the Boggart. Daiki couldn't go to sleep because of that. Why had his mother been there and why did Taiga fear himself the most?

They were both alone in the dorm, the others who were sharing it with them were still occupied with eating dinner. Daiki sighed, knowing that he'd just hurt his head with too much thinking and decided to give it a rest for today.

* * *

 

The next morning, they were both late for Herbology. With a few (a lot of) toasts quickly stuffed into their mouths, they rushed to the greenhouses as quick as possible. Daiki knew that professor Sprout was going to be angry at them if they were too late, and that they would probably end as food for one of her horrible monster plants. He shivered at the thought and began running faster, hearing Taiga pant behind him.

"Hogwarts' terrain is too big. Why are the greenhouses that far away?" he wheezed and devoured a few more toasts that he had saved in his pockets.

"That's because there are fucking insane plants who are going to kill you if you try to water them," Daiki responded, still a little annoyed that no one woke the two up. Not even Satsuki and Tetsuya had waited for them.

"Holy shit, seriously?!" Taiga shouted shortly before they arrived at their destination.

"Daiki, Taiga! What took you so long?" Satsuki immediately asked when she spotted the two.

"No shit, wizards have no alarm clocks like muggles, so we overslept," Daiki growled and Taiga looked at him in confusion.

"What's an alarm clock?"

"Oh God..." Daiki groaned, about to explain it the fifth time to someone who grew up in a wizard family, when professor Sprout showed up.

Just in time, he sighed inwardly.

"Morning, class. I hope you haven't forgotten my name during summer vacation, so once again, I'm professor Sprout and I'll teach you Herbology, the best subject at Hogwarts of course."   
Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Now please search yourself a place at the table and take a pair of gloves with you, they're laying over there," she instructed and motioned towards a long table where every student would be able to find a place.  
On the table stood many pots with a small but ugly looking plant inside. Daiki was happy that is wasn't moving yet, but as he knew professor Sprout, there was a trick behind it.

"Can anyone tell me what this plant is called?" she asked and Daiki was sure that Satsuki would be the only one raising her arm, but to his surprise, Furihata seemed to know the answer too.

"Mr Furihata?"

"Uhm, it's a Devil's Snare, professor!"

"Correct! Five points for Gryffindor. It's hard to recognize the Devil's Snare by daylight, since it's only active in dark places. Can you also explain what's so special about this plant, Mr Furihata?"

"Of course. The Devil's Snare tries to strangle everything that touches it. When the victim struggles, the plant will be even more forceful, but if the victim remains calm, it will loosen its grip, too!" Furihata answered and professor Sprout nodded enthusiastically.

"Right. But as you all can see, this version of the Devil's Snare isn't able to hurt you. After I'm going to darken this greenhouse, it's your task to will the plant away after watering it, but without hurting it. It's the best if you use 'Lumos'. If I see anyone who burns my babies with 'Incendio', they are going to scrub the greenhouses for the next week, got it?" She looked at her students, and still smiled despite her threat.

"It's exactly like I told you," Daiki whispered to Taiga.

"Her plants are trying to kill you if you water them."

"And your task begins now!" professor Sprout shouted and let a few black curtains fall from the ceiling. The greenhouse was completely dark by then, but they were still able to see themselves and their neighbors.

"Oh God, I hate the Devil's Snare. I have had enough fun with it in my first year," Daiki sighed, glaring at the smaller version of the plant in front of him.

"Not only you, Daiki. But you were so stupid to move even more," Tetsuya added as he grabbed the little watering can next to his pot.

"Shut up, you weren't better until Satsuki told us to stand still," Daiki replied.

"Yeah, with the difference that I was the one believing her..."  
Taiga giggled in the background.

"Stop that, Bakagami, or I'll kill you with my plant!" He picked his pot up to make his warning clear, when the Devil's Snare inside it suddenly began to extend it's vines to him. Daiki let it fall back on the table immediately.

"Watch out that it's not going to kill you first," Taiga laughed.

"Concentration, please!" professor Sprout shouted. Daiki watched how Taiga also grabbed the watering can and just poured the water right on top of his plant.

"Taiga, what are you doing? The water has to reach the earth, you can't just shower the Devil's Snare!" Satsuki protested as she saw what he did. The plant also wasn't that happy and shook its tendrils violently, so that droplets of water flew around, landing mostly on Taiga's face. Said one groaned and rubbed his face.

"Okay, okay... Let's try again," he sighed and looked around what the others did. Daiki had a staring contest with his Devil's Snare, Tetsuya, Satsuki and Furihata were already done, the latter one was smiling proudly, and Kise... well, that was another thing.

"Oh God, let me go you dumb thing!" he squeaked when the plant's vines wandered up his arm.

"I'm too handsome too die!! Let go, let go!!" He hit it with his wand out of panic. The harsh movements caused little flames to emerge from it and the Devil's Snare was letting him go on an instant. Kise realized his fault too late and seconds later, the plant in front of him was burning. He quickly emptied the content of his watering can over it, but even the water wasn't able to save it.

"Mr Kise..."   
Kise flinched when professor Sprout stood behind him.

"You know what your task is for the next week," she reminded him and left Kise whimpering that he wasn't made for garden work.

"Take an example from Mr Murasakibara," she recommended and Taiga looked over to the (almost) giant who was petting his plant which seemed to enjoy it. He saw Daiki shaking his head next to him, seeming to have lost the staring contest.

Taiga carefully touched the Devil's Snare and tried to bend a vine to water it, but flinched back when it wrapped itself around his hand instead. He tried to free himself at first, but of course the plant's grip tightened.

"Lumos!" he said instead and it backed off, revealing a small place of earth where he could properly water it.

"Yes!" he shouted, proud of himself. But when he looked around, he noticed he was one of the last students who finally succeeded.

"Mr Aomine, please finish up, we don't have all day," professor Sprout commanded and everyone looked at the tall wizard who was fighting with his plant.

"Shit," he hissed as it managed to take his wand away and pulled his arm further down.

"Haha, it almost looks like it's in love with you, Aho!" Taiga laughed and Daiki glared at him.

"Be quiet, Bakagami!" he hissed and tried to get his wand back.

"Oh fuck it!" He snatched Taiga's wand out of his hand instead, said one was protesting of course, but Daiki wasn't listening.

"Lumos!" he shouted and suddenly the greenhouse was so bright, that everyone had to squint their eyes.  
Daiki used this to exchange his plant with Fukuda's next to him, pretending to be done.

"Though I should have learned that your wand is kind of aggressive like Takao said," he smirked at Taiga who still had his eyes closed.

"Now give it back, so I can curse you!" the latter one snarled and took it back.

"When no one is blind anymore, you can leave. The lesson is over," professor Sprout sighed, massaging her temples.

"Except Mr Kise of course. I'll show you some nice gardening tools!"

Taiga, Tetsuya, Satsuki and Daiki were able to exit the greenhouses before they could hear Kise's death scream.


	3. Time for Quidditch and Bertie Bott's Beans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear every time I write "Tetsuya", my auto correction always turns it into "Tatsuya"! This is hella confusing!!

"I'm excited to see what Hagrid wants to show us," Satsuki said when their break was over and the four headed towards Care of Magical Creatures.

"I pray that it's not a spider as big as his own hut," Daiki exclaimed, looking at the sky as if he was speaking to Merlin.

"Ew! Such spiders exist?" Taiga asked.

"You have no idea," Tetsuya sighed.

"Ugh, and we have classes with Slytherin again, I want to die," Daiki pretended to throw up.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad when Hagrid's the professor," Satsuki said and Tetsuya nodded.

"I hope his next monster is going to eat Haizaki!"

They soon arrived at the paddocks, seeing Hagrid waving at them.

"And? What kind of creature do you have for us, Hagrid?" Daiki asked as they approached him.

"It's a surprise, you'll see soon enough!" the half-giant grinned and looked around to check if every student of his was present.

"I guess I'll get him now. I'm back in a few minutes," he announced and vanished behind a few trees.

"If it's starting like that, it's definitely something big," Daiki explained to Taiga.

"You don't have dragons here, do you??" he asked shocked.

"No, don't worry, but you never know what to expect from Hagrid," Tetsuya answered.

"Yeah, that shitty giant just does what he wants, right?" a spiteful voice spoke up behind them.

"No one wanted to hear something from you, Haizaki," Daiki snarled, too stressed to put up with the Slytherin's shit.

"Calm down, I also have no intention to talk to you, either. Instead I wanted to have a little chat with Kagami over here..." Haizaki laid one arm around Taiga's shoulder who was frozen for a moment.

"It's a pity that you're in Gryffindor, but we can still be friends, you now?" he smirked and Taiga shoved him away, glaring at him like Daiki did.

"What do you want?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a little interested in the spell you used yesterday in D.A.D.A. You mind teaching it to me?"

"Fuck off!"  
Haizaki just laughed.

"Come on, even the talking hat said you know things we're just allowed to read about. I can give you lots of money."

"I said fuck off before I do something I'm going to regret," Taiga replied. Haizaki hissed angrily and grabbed him by the collar.

"Listen here, you-..." He couldn't end his sentence due to Taiga who grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Haizaki howled in pain and let him go.

"We're not done yet, you freak!" he yelled before making his retreat.

"Hey, you were pretty cool, Taiga!" Satsuki grinned and patted his back.

"Really...?" he turned around and looked at his friends.

"You sure know how to scare off those bastards," Daiki added and Taiga grinned.

"Thanks! Though I'm really beginning to wonder what's up with those Slytherins always wanting to be friends with us..."

"Well, they don't have any. And as you can see, most of them are really bad in making ones," Daiki snorted.

A few seconds later, Hagrid returned and behind him was a creature that looked similar to Buckbeak, the Hippogriff.

"Oh please, not again that ugly thing!" they heard Haizaki groaning in the background.

"I'm sorry to tell you that you're wrong, Mr Haizaki," Hagrid smiled widely at everyone.

"As the smarter ones of you can see, this isn't a Hippogriff, but a Griffin."  
The animal behind him let out a small roar and inspected the students with its sharp eyes.

"And what's the difference?" Haizaki asked rudely.

"I'll explain it only for you, Mr Haizaki. A Griffin is a little bigger than a Hippogriff, their bottoms are also different. Whereas a Hippogriff has the bottom of a horse, the Griffin's one looks like a lion's. They are also stronger and much more dangerous if you treat them wrong," Hagrid said and carefully stroked the Griffin's feathers. Then he grinned again.

"So, same question like three years ago. Who wants to ride Featherwing?"

It almost was like a repetition, everyone took a step back (Daiki did so too this time), which left Taiga the only one standing at the front.

"Oh, Taiga! What a pleasure, I have the feeling Featherwing is going to love you!" Hagrid said and let the Griffin walk a few steps in his direction. The redhead looked behind him in panic, only to see that his classmates went back even further. He then looked up to the creature in front of him. It was really big, at least as tall as Hagrid and he was sure it could carry around five people on its back.

"Ah, uhm, you see professor, animals don't like me that much..."

"That's not true, don't be scared," Hagrid replied.

"No, seriously! They really hate me!" Taiga protested and Daiki noticed that it seemed to be true, since Featherwing wouldn't approach him further.

"Don't worry, Taiga. Just walk up to him slowly without blinking. Then you have to bow and only stop when Featherwing is bowing too, got it?" Hagrid ignored him.

"Daiki can tell you, it's not that hard. Right, Daiki?"

"Uh, sure," said one agreed, mainly to not disappoint Hagrid and his creatures that sometimes were a little too aggressive. He also felt bad for Taiga though, watching how he did what Hagrid told him. He tried to, at least. Whenever Taiga made a step towards the Griffin, it backed off a little.

"Hey, what's wrong, Featherwing! You can't be scared, right?" Hagrid began petting him, but Featherwing roared once more, louder this time and reared on his back paws.

"It's like I told you," Taiga sighed while Hagrid needed a little time to calm the Griffin down.

"That's sad. I'm sorry you couldn't experience the ride on a Griffin. It really is amazing."

"Not like _he_ was ever able to fly one," Daiki heard Haizaki whispering somewhere behind him and turned around to glare at him.

"Does someone else want to try it?" Hagrid asked and looked into the crowd of students hopefully. Daiki was almost about to volunteer again, just not to sadden the half-giant even more, but Tetsuya surprisingly raised his arm.

"I'd like to do it," he said with his monotone voice and Hagrid happily walked over to him.

"That's good, Tetsuya. Since you're so plain, I bet Featherwing isn't even going to notice you on his back," he said and the blue haired small wizard ignored the last part. Hagrid picked him up and settled him down on the Griffin.

"Have a good time!" he slapped Featherwing, signaling him to start flying off. The Griffin made a bird like noise before it spread its wings and took off the ground. Tetsuya squinted his eyes together and clinched to the Griffin that pushed itself into the air further. It wasn't long until Tetsuya was a mere point at the sky.

"There he flies," Hagrid sighed contently and turned around to the remaining students.

"Until he's back, you'll collect Flobberworms for an upcoming project!"

Groans and protests were heard from literally everyone.

* * *

 

"Phew, Thursday already. I think we should visit Hogsmeade on Saturday," Satsuki suggested during lunch break. They were sitting outside of the castle on the grass, having a nice view of the lake. Tetsuya was a little out of character since his flight with Featherwing, he kept smiling and staring into the sky the whole time.

"Hogsmeade?" Taiga asked and Daiki sighed.

"Have you even informed yourself before coming here?" He let himself fall down on his back, placing his hands behind his head and looking at the clouds.

"Shut up, I'm not that good at remembering stuff!" Taiga grumbled.

"To answer your question, Taiga, Hogsmeade is a village near Hogwarts. It's said that it's the only village in Great Britain where wizards are living without muggles around them. They have some amazing stores we should definitely show you," Tetsuya said.

"Sounds nice!"

"It is."

"No, it's not. It's too bothersome to walk there only to get a few sweets," Daiki replied, but was shoved back into the grass by Satsuki when he tried to sit up.

"Don't listen to this idiot," she smiled.

"I never do," Taiga grinned back.

"Hey!!"  
A loud hooting suddenly interrupted them and Daiki looked up once again to see Quaffle approaching them. He smiled.

"Quaffle, where did you come from?" he asked when the small Barn owl landed on his shoulder and rubbed her head against his neck.

"Nigou isn't bullying you?" Daiki glanced at Tetsuya for a second.

"You know he'd never do something like this," Tetsuya responded and kept drinking his vanilla shake, satisfied that he could enjoy something else than pumpkin juice once in a while.

"Yeah, but still. Quaffle is a baby owl after all!" Daiki defended her while cupping the little bird with his hands, stroking her feathers. Quaffle cooed a few times before shaking her wings and picking at Daiki's palms.

"Aw, so you do have a soft spot for animals," Satsuki squealed.

"He also has a good side, right, Taiga?" she turned around.

"Taiga...?"  
The redhead had backed off a little and curled himself up while staring at the owl with wide eyes.

"..."

"You're not afraid of owls, are you..." Tetsuya deadpanned.

"N-no, I'm not. I just can't handle them!!" Taiga protested, though he was trembling a little.

"Pfff, seriously?! We just saw that animals don't like you, but that you're scared of such little things," Daiki laughed.

"And Satsuki, I don't have a soft spot, Quaffle's just too cute, I can't help it!" he added.

"That's exactly what you call a soft spot, Daiki," Tetsuya replied before turning to Taiga again.

"I'm not scared, I only said I can't handle them!" said one repeated.

"Then why the hell are you looking like you saw a ghost? A bad one, I mean..." Daiki asked.

"I... When I was little there were a few owls attacking me in a forest. I even was sent to the hospital after that!!" Taiga responded a little embarrassed.

"Oh, that's bad. Why did they attack you?" Satsuki looked at him concerned.

"I don't know! I was just... Well, I was walking through the forest and they came out of nowhere!" he explained.

"Yeah, sounds tragic and all, but there's really no need to be afraid of Quaffle!" Daiki replied, holding the little owl in front of him that was watching Taiga with her big eyes.

"I know, it's just... I..."

"Come on, she can't even hurt you! Quaffle's a good owl! Just hold her for a second," Daiki persuaded him and scooted closer to Taiga who seemed to struggle to not stand up and run away.

"O-okay... Only for a second," Taiga eventually gave in, and hold out his hands shakily, waiting for Daiki to place the owl in his palms. Their hands touched for a few moments, presenting a bridge for Quaffle who took her time walking over into Taiga's hands. The redhead flinched when she set one foot on his palms, but Daiki hold him in place for the case he'd pull his hands away in panic.

"Stay calm, Bakagami. When she feels that you're scared, she will be scared too," he mumbled, closing Taiga's fingers a little to protect the owl from falling down when Quaffle had finally walked over.

"See? She's so cute! So a few animals do like you, huh?"  
Taiga looked up to Daiki and saw the first genuine smile since he had met the other.

"Y-yeah, you're right," he stuttered, quickly looking away from this flattering view. The redhead carefully used his thumb to pet Quaffle who closed her eyes and seemed to enjoy the attention given to her.

"Not that bad, right?" Daiki still smiled.

"Oh man, she's so small! Take her back, now I'm scared to crush her accidentally." Taiga opened his hands and let Quaffle hop over to Daiki who set the Barn owl on his head.  
The two turned around when they suddenly heard Satsuki giggling.

"God, you are so sweet!" she raved and Tetsuya nodded in the background.

"Ew, no, we're not, Satsuki!" Daiki protested and scooted away from Taiga who looked as embarrassed as him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I ship you guys!"

"Eh, what does that mean?" Taiga asked her confused while Daiki pretended to puke, causing Quaffle to fly from his head to Satsuki's and hooting a few times.

"See, Dai-chan? Quaffle approves, too!" she smirked, ignoring Taiga's question.

"We should head to the quidditch court soon, the selection for our new Chaser begins in half an hour," Tetsuya interrupted them.

"Do I have to be there, too?" Daiki yawned.

"Yes, of course. Our whole team has to decide which player we're picking for our team. You don't want to get hit by Hyūga again, do you?"  
Daiki paled a little bit by the mention of their team's hotheaded captain. Tetsuya turned to Taiga.

"Your position is Chaser, right? Try your best and you'll get into the team," he encouraged him.

"I'll come, too," Satsuki grinned and Quaffle hooted.

"Then it's decided. Satsuki and I go ahead. You two can go get your broomsticks. We meet at the court in, let's say, twenty minutes," Tetsuya decided.

"Really? I don't need my broomstick for-..." Daiki stopped in the middle of his sentence when his blue haired friend stared intensely with his big eyes at him.

"Okay, okay, come on, Taiga or I'm going without you..." he gave in and stood up, walking away with Taiga on his tracks.

"What do I have to do to be your new Chaser?" the redhead asked him and Daiki shrugged.

"I don't really know. The captain will explain it to you," he answered without looking at him. Taiga sighed.

"Thanks for nothing."

"Huh? I honestly don't know that!"

"Okay, fine, what for a broomstick are you flying then?" That question seemed to interest Daiki more.

"Firebolt!" he grinned and enjoyed the expression of admiration on Kagami's face.

"Holy shit, seriously?! That's so amazing! Can you show it to me? I've always wanted to touch a real Firebolt!!" he blurted. Daiki smirked, knowing he had the control.

"Mmhhh, I'll think about it..."

"Oh my God, pretty please!!" the redhead begged.

"Like I said, we'll see. What for a model do you have, by the way?" Daiki then asked and Taiga began to grin himself.

"A real Thunderbolt VII!"  
Daiki's jaw hit the ground.

"What the fuck!? And then you're getting so worked up over a Firebolt??"

"Of course! You don't know how much I love Firebolts!!" Taiga responded, neither of them noticing how their voices got louder and louder.

"Fine, I show you my Firebolt and you're letting me see your Thunderbolt!"

"Deal!" They both smiled at each other and Daiki felt like he was talking to a friend he already knew for years.

"Hurry up, I can't wait to see your baby!!" Daiki laughed and took three steps up the stairs at once. Taiga had never seen him this excited before, he found himself liking to discover new sides of Daiki. Right now he had to try to keep up with him though, the wizard in front of him sure was quick. In an attempt to catch up, Taiga tripped and fell, causing Daiki to turn around when he heard the crash.

"Pfff, haha, you just tripped on a trick step!" he sneered.

"Shut up and help me up! My damn foot is stuck in it!" Taiga growled, trying to stand up, but failing.

"Oh come on, that only happens to first years!" he still laughed, but grabbed the redhead's hand to pull him out of the fake step.

"I practically am a first year!" he protested.

"Ah, right, I almost forgot! Let's go, I'm so hyped to see your Thunderbolt!" Daiki didn't let go of his hand as he ran up the stairs with Taiga. Weird looks were thrown after them as the two stormed through the Gryffindor common room into their dorm.

"Holy fuck, so this is the Firebolt??" Taiga looked at the broomstick with sparkling eyes when Daiki pulled it out under his bed.

"Yup. Pretty cool, right? Be careful!" he smiled proudly when he slowly gave it to Taiga like it was some holy artefact. Said one began stroking the smooth wood. The redhead then grinned at him, showing Daiki who had a look of anticipation on his face, his own broomstick.

"Woah, nice! A real Thunderbolt VII!!"  
Taiga smiled when he saw Daiki's eyes sparkling.

"May I?" he asked him, pointing at the broom and the redhead handed it over to him.

"Amazing! It's said that it rivals the Firebolt in speed!" he said.

"Yeah, that's true, but its safety was sacrificed for the speed," Taiga admitted, still admiring the Firebolt in his hands.

"Right. You still remember the Quidditch World Cup in 2014? In the quarter-finals against Japan, the Nigerian seeker Samuel Equiano's Thunderbolt VII got hit by a Bludger-..."

"...which smashed the tail off! Unbelievable, right??" Taiga ended his sentence.

"Yeah! No Bludger should be able to destroy a broomstick like that!" Daiki agreed, throwing the Thunderbolt from one hand to another.

"I'm excited to see how you do with that against my Firebolt!" he smirked.

"Oh, you up for a challenge?"

"Always!"  
They exchanged brooms once again.

"Shit, we're going to be late!" Daiki suddenly remembered.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Taiga shouted when Daiki did not use the door to exit but the window of their dorm.

"Exactly what it looks like! Be serious, it's too fucking annoying to walk all those stairs again," he responded as he jumped out of the window on his Firebolt.

"Is that even allowed??"

"Of course not. Come on, you want to be our Chaser, right?" Daiki lured him and Taiga finally followed him. Climbing out of the window he looked down. He realized that their dorm was really high because he could barely see the ground underneath him.

"Oi, you're not afraid of heights, are you?" Daiki asked when the redhead kept looking down.

"Definitely not, stupid. That would be bad as a quidditch player!" Taiga replied and joined him on his broom.

"God, I've missed this," he sighed when they flew down to the quidditch court which looked amazingly small from their position.

"Yeah, me too," Daiki agreed, since the Dursleys always locked his broomstick away when he had to go back to them. Not that he'd try to fly away with it...

"Let's see who's first!" he laughed and sped up.

"Wait, Aho!" he heard Taiga yell behind him, but there was no way he'd catch up to him by now.

* * *

 

"Ha, I won!" Daiki stated when being the first to touch the ground with his feet.

"Just because you had a headstart!" Taiga protested, dismounting next to him.

"Dai-chan, Taiga! You made it just in time! But if I see you two flying out of the dorm's window again, I'll make sure to use an ugly spell on you!" Satsuki threatened them as soon as she and Tetsuya spotted the two. Quaffle sat on her shoulder, looking at Daiki like she wanted to say: "Better listen to her, Dai-chan!"  
He shook his head, realizing that he should have named Quaffle Satsuki 2.0 instead.

"Hyūga is about to rip your head off, if you're not going to start our selection," Tetsuya informed him monotonous with his new Comet 260 in one hand, and Daiki jumped when he indeed saw the angry four eyes.

"Daiki Aomine!! Get your ass over here!!" Hyūga shouted and then looked at Taiga.

"If you want to take part in the competition, you should change in the locker rooms with the others!"

"Yes!" Taiga answered before storming off into the direction Hyūga was pointing at.

"So? You're already friends with the newbie from Durmstrang?" he asked Daiki harshly, when Taiga was gone.

"Well, uh, he has a nice broomstick..."

"Yeah, I saw that at first sight. Thunderbolt VII, right? Definitely as amazing as your Firebolt."

"I won't say that but it's pretty close," Daiki replied with a slight grin.

"But Aomine, listen." Hyūga walked closer to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"You should stay away from Kagami if what I've heard is right," he said in a serious tone.

"Huh? What did you hear?"

"Well, the things that happened during your D.A.D.A. lessons with Slytherin. I don't know if it was exactly like that because it's Haizaki who's spreading that this Kagami has used dark arts..."

"Haizaki?! That bastard!!" Daiki growled.

"Taiga is pretty okay, so don't listen to the bullshit he tells everyone!"

"Fine, whatever. You should still be careful, though." He patted Daiki's shoulder a few times before joining their other teammates at the sidelines of the court. Everyone was there already: Their Seeker, Tetsuya, the two Beaters, Furihata and their captain Hyūga, the Keeper, Kiyoshi and the Chasers, Wakamatsu and himself. And since Susa retired last year, Daiki found himself hoping that Taiga would be a part of the team soon.

After a few minutes the competitors were stepping onto the court with their broomsticks, wearing the Gryffindor quidditch uniforms. Daiki spotted Taiga standing at the side of the row a little nervously. Next to him were Fukuda, Kawahara, Fukui, Miyaji and a few others Daiki couldn't remember their names of.

"All of you, listen up!" Hyūga shouted towards them, crossing his arms.

"Everyone of you is here to apply for being our third Chaser, but only one of you can get that position. Give your best, Teppei will explain what you have to do." He stepped aside for Kiyoshi to talk to them.

"For the ones who don't know it, I'm Teppei Kiyoshi, Gryffindor's vice captain and Keeper. Your task is simple; Each of you has ten tries to score points by throwing the Quaffle through one of the three rings over there. Of course I'm trying to catch them all. The ones who have scored the most are going to get a second task. You have to team up with one of our Chasers and form a combo. We'll decide in the end who of you is most suited for the job," Kiyoshi explained smiling, and every time Daiki saw him, he still got the feeling that the tall Keeper was radiating such a calm aura that it seemed to infect others in his area, too.

"When there aren't any questions, the first one may begin!" he announced and flew with his broomstick to the rings where he'd catch the Quaffle. Daiki saw how Taiga looked at his friends for a short moment. Tetsuya and Satsuki gave him both thumbs up, Quaffle was flapping her wings and not wanting to be that rude, Daiki joined them with a small smile directed at him. Taiga grinned back widely and Daiki was sure it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever see. The redhead's grins were dazzling after all.

When Daiki looked around, he noticed that many Gryffindors were watching the selection. Daiki frowned after returning his attention to the court and saw that none of the competitors had managed to score against Kiyoshi until now. Fukuda kept throwing the Quaffle straight into his hands, his attempts to score were way too obvious. The same went for Kawahara and Fukui. Daiki shook his head. What were they even doing? You had to be flexible as a Chaser, you had to fake the Keeper out with speed. Daiki wanted to smash his head against the wall behind him when he saw Kawahara completely missing the ring. At least the level changed a little when it was Miyaji's turn. He scored five out of ten against Kiyoshi and Daiki saw Hyūga nodding a little next to him.

"He's pretty good," he stated and Furihata agreed.

"Wait till you see Taiga, though. I have the feeling that he's going to be something special," Daiki muttered without even noticing he had said that out loud.

"Just a reminder we won't take him only because he's your friend." Hyūga looked at him from the corner of his eye. Daiki shrugged and saw a grinning Miyaji who got complimented by Kiyoshi for his good throws. He then went to the side were the others were waiting. Daiki smiled to himself when he watched Taiga getting the Quaffle from Kiyoshi and flying to his starting point. The redhead had a concentrated look on his face before starting right off.

"Holy shit he's fast!" Wakamatsu shouted along with Hyūga.

"Well, it's a Thunderbolt VII after all," Furihata added with admiration. Daiki found himself grinning as Taiga faked a throw before scoring through the left ring. He did the same thing over and over again and Kiyoshi looked really exhausted, having a hard time to guess at which goal Taiga was aiming. His movements were so elegant and smooth that Daiki had the urge to grab his own broomstick and join him. Loud cheering was heard from the tiers behind him as Taiga managed to score nine out of ten throws.

"I told you, right?" Daiki smirked, looking over to Hyūga whose jaw was hanging on the ground.

"He might be just as good as you, Aomine," Wakamatsu said, loud as always.

"Nope. That's not possible," Daiki replied.

"Oooh, someone can't live with concurrence..."

"Shut up! No one's as good as me!!" Daiki snapped.

"Sure, whatever!" Hyūga pushed him away and called Miyaji and Taiga to approach them.

"To tell the truth, you two were the best. So team up with our Chasers and we're having a little two-on-two with me and Teppei as Keepers. The team that scores fifty points, means five throws, wins," the captain explained.

"It's up to yourself with who you team up." He glanced at Taiga and Miyaji.

"Since we already now each other," Daiki smirked and snaked one arm around Taiga's shoulder, "we may as well look how we do as a combo."

"What?! No, that's not fair. You should at least pair up with Miyaji, Aomine!" Wakamatsu protested.

"No, I think it's fine like that. It's going to be even more fun if I can beat that arrogant bastard's ass," Miyaji said, glaring at Daiki. He still couldn't cope with the fact that Daiki had been taken into the team as a first year, while Miyaji never had the chance to show his talents. He wasn't bad, pretty decent to precise, but not good enough to play for Gryffindor.

"Let's crush them, Taiga," Daiki grinned, getting on his Firebolt and flying towards the middle of the court, the other three following him.

"Mind throwing the Quaffle for us, Tetsu?" he shouted at the ground and saw his friend nodding. Daiki shortly glanced at Taiga who was grinning madly, and he wondered if he looked the same right now.

Tetsuya threw the Quaffle high into the air and of course it was Daiki who caught it. He could tell by one look at Wakamatsu and Miyaji that he could also do this alone, but this match was for Taiga to show his best and Hyūga would kill him, if he didn't let him play.

"Show what you've got, Tiger," he shouted and passed the Quaffle towards him. Taiga caught it just before Wakamatsu could stop the pass.

"We won't let you get through," Miyaji shouted, but was to slow to keep up with Taiga who made an amazing move to get through his defense. Miyaji turned around and tried to overtake Taiga again, but it seemed impossible. Daiki was thinking for a moment that the redhead would score on his own, but he got a pass back not a second later. Due to his surprise, Wakamatsu was now in front of him, determined to prevent him from passing back.

"You don't seriously think you can stop me, do you?" Daiki sneered, flew a nice bow, and aiming for one of the rings on Kiyoshi's side. Said one reacted quickly, ready to catch the Quaffle from Daiki, but the latter one passed back to Taiga without even looking. As if the redhead knew what Daiki was about to do, he caught the ball in a good timing, so that he scored through the ring Kiyoshi wasn't guarding in that moment.

"Nice pass, Daiki!" he grinned.

"Don't get used to it! I usually never pass!" the other replied.

"Then I'll make you," Taiga still smiled.

"Let's go Miyaji, it's time for revenge!" Wakamatsu yelled, the Quaffle in his hands. He threw it to his teammate, but before the ball could reach his destination, Taiga had snatched it out of the air.  
They scored again shortly after. The same thing kept repeating itself, and Daiki was pretty bored at some point. He wished that he had teamed up against Taiga, not with him. No, it would be even better if he could face him in a one-on-one. He grinned to himself at that thought.

"And it's over! Aomine and Kagami win!" Hyūga ended the game when it was fifty to zero. Wakamatsu and Miyaji were both panting heavily, frustrated that they weren't able to keep up with their opponents. Daiki wasn't as near as exhausted and Taiga looked the same. Hyūga sighed.

"Yeah, so it's pretty obvious who's going to be our third Chaser. I'm sorry Miyaji..."

"Five years!!" Miyaji suddenly yelled angrily.

"Five fucking years I tried to get one position in Gryffindor's quidditch team! I've always failed and this was my last chance. I'm leaving Hogwarts next year, without playing one game!!"

"Miyaji, listen, we're sorry, but..." Kiyoshi got interrupted.

"But instead you take this sixth year from Durmstrang! Come on, Durmstrang!! He knows how to split up body parts, great! And you want to have someone like that in your team??"

"What the fuck? What have I done to you?!" Taiga snarled, close to grab the fuming Miyaji by the collar.

"Right, just because you're not as good, you don't need to make such a riot here," Daiki agreed.

"Please calm down, guys!" Hyūga shouted loudly and hit each of them on the head.

"Like we said, Miyaji, we're really sorry and maybe we'll consider you as a substitute."

"Tch." Miyaji spit on the ground. Then he glared at Taiga again.

"Just because you have a fast broomstick doesn't make you better than me," he growled before turning around and leaving without another word.

"Someone can't live with concurrence, eh?" Daiki quoted Wakamatsu's words from earlier.

"Well, I can understand why Miyaji feels like that," Kiyoshi hummed thoughtfully.

"He's really obsessed with quidditch, his place in the team for his last year would have been reachable, if Kagami hadn't shown up all of a sudden."

"..."

"That was nothing against you, sorry!" Kiyoshi added quickly and smiled apologetically at him.

"I guess you should watch out, redhead. I bet Miyaji is going to give you a hard time since you stole his position," Hyūga said rudely.

"Junpei, come on, don't talk like this, it's not Kagami's fault," Kiyoshi replied and tried to increase his calm aura.

"Taiga!!" Satsuki sprinted from the sidelines towards him.

"Congratulations!" she smiled and hugged him shortly. The redhead's eyes went wide for a second.

"Ah, thanks, Satsuki," he responded and hesitantly returned the hug.

"At least one is congratulating him," Tetsuya said while piercing through the others with his blank stare, causing everyone to jump because no one had noticed him.

"Yeah, you're right, Kuroko. Congratulations, Kagami! Let's have a nice time together," Kiyoshi smiled at him and Taiga shook his hands.

"Congrats," Hyūga muttered, and Daiki saw that he wasn't that eagerly to shake the redhead's hand, but did it anyway. It went on with the other team members, Furihata found him cool while Wakamatsu was still frustrated due to his loss against him and Daiki, demanding a rematch soon.

"Our first match is on Sunday, right?" Daiki asked.

"Yeah, against Slytherin. It's only a practice match, though. I heard they also have a new player," Hyūga answered.

"Don't you dare coming too late, Aomine!" Wakamatsu shouted and Daiki rolled his eyes.

"I'm never too late when it's about quidditch, idiot," he countered and saw a tick appearing on Wakamatsu's forehead.

"Who's the idiot??"

"Shut up now, please be punctual at 10:00 AM on Sunday!" Hyūga informed them.

"Alright! I can't wait!" Furihata grinned.

* * *

 

"We should definitely celebrate Taiga's win in the competition!" Satsuki announced, putting one hand in the air, while placing the other on Taiga's shoulder.

"Yeah, but only when the fucking stair moves back," Daiki grumbled. The four of them already stood for five minutes in the same place because the stair that usually kept turning wasn't moving back to get them to the Gryffindor common room.

"Maybe we should use a portrait to get back," Tetsuya suggested after another minute.

"No way! I'm not giving up! This fucking stair has one fucking job and I'm not fucking moving until I can fucking use it!!" Daiki protested loudly.

"Dai-chan, stop the cursing or I'll hit you!" Satsuki threatened him after his outburst.

"Fine, you use the portrait, I'm waiting!"

"God, you're so stubborn! You're coming with us, now!" Satsuki replied, but Daiki stayed rigid.

"No!"

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

"What the fuck?! Satsuki let me down! Now!! And I'll kill you if you won't stop laughing, Taiga!!" Daiki cursed loudly as he was suddenly hovering over the ground, being directed by Satsuki's magic wand.

"I'm sorry, but this is so hilarious," Taiga continued giggling.

"Don't hit your head, Daiki," Tetsuya warned him with a blank look.

"Oh, God, no, no, no!! Let me down! I'll show this stair who's the boss! I'm fucking Daiki Aomine, I survived a death spell, I survived a fight against a Basilisk, I survive everything!! But now I should lose to a stair?!"

"Yeah, you have to learn to lose sometimes," Satsuki just said, trying to not hit his head against a wall or the ceiling, since Daiki was struggling that hard.

"Wow, a Basilisk?! You sure had some amazing adventures, Daiki!" Taiga said and Daiki sighed. At least one person admired him.

They went through the portrait up to the Gryffindor common room with a few detours and incidents, one of them being Daiki falling to the ground due to Satsuki's "Wingardium Leviosa" which wasn't able to work on people that long. The rest of the way the great Daiki Aomine was rubbing his head while cursing that the stupid stair always was a little surly on Thursdays, especially when one insulted it.

"So? How do we celebrate now?" Daiki more groaned than asked when letting himself fall on his bed.

"We... We don't have to celebrate at all, I mean... I just..." Taiga got interrupted.

"Nope, you're our friend and you've achieved something great we have to celebrate!" Satsuki replied.

"Now?" Daiki mumbled into his pillow.

"Now!!"

"Ugh..."

"Uhm, we can also do this on Saturday when you wanted to show me Hogsmeade, you know?" Taiga suggested, knowing that Daiki wasn't in the best mood after his crash. Satsuki sighed.

"Fine... But we're still doing the 'Bertie Bott's All Flavour Beans'-Challenge!"

"The what...?"

"You don't know Bertie Bott's Beans?!" Daiki who sat up amazingly quickly, stared at Taiga unbelievingly.

"Uh..."

"Holy shit, that's not normal! Satsuki, you have to get the beans immediately!" he ordered.

"On my way," she winked at them.

"And... what is it for a challenge?" the redhead then asked.

"Well, you have to close your eyes and someone of us gives you a bean. If you guess the right flavor, it's the next one's turn. If not, you have to eat another bean," Tetsuya explained.

"Oh..." Taiga only said.

"Yeah, but you have to watch out, there are pretty mean beans, too. Something like puke or dirt," Daiki grinned as Taiga grimaced.

"...and back!" Satsuki announced with a bag of jelly beans in her hand.

"Look guys, Quaffle wants to join us," she added when the small owl flew through the window and Daiki catched her quickly before she could crash-land on his bed.  
Satsuki opened the bag and spilled the beans over the small table.

"Taiga begins," she grinned and commanded him to close his eyes.

"I have to warn you, I really suck at this..." he sighed and closed his eyes, smiling a little.

"Show your hand," Tetsuya said and Taiga did so.

"No, Tetsu, not that bean! Take this one!" Daiki exchanged the beans in Taiga's hand before the redhead could take it.

"You're mean, Daiki. He will get back at you," Tetsuya just commented, but wasn't stopping him.

"What are you doing, Aho?!" Taiga shouted, but didn't open his eyes.

"Nothing, nothing, eat the damn bean instead."  
Of course Daiki had given him the puke bean. What else could be expected from him? He was at least ready to dodge for the case that Taiga would spit the bean out right again. But he just chewed it calmly, before gulping it down.

"By Merlin's pink panties, you didn't swallow that, did you?!" Satsuki asked almost scandalized.

"Huh? Why not, was there something wrong with it?" Taiga seemed to be confused.

"And? What flavour was it?" Daiki grinned again.

"Uh... Soap?"  
Silence filled the room, within the desire to facepalm.

"What kind of soap do you use??"

"Normal soap. Wasn't it soap?"

"God, no!"

"Then soup?"

"Don't just say that because the words are similar! Are you dense??"

"Hey!!"  
Satsuki and Tetsuya both sighed.

"Okay, Taiga gets a second try, after you failed with the puke bean..." Tetsuya said.

"It was puke?! You asshole! But it isn't actually puke, right?"

"Of course not," Satsuki calmed him down and gave him another bean.

"Uh... Cherry?" he guessed.

"I told you I'm bad at this," he added when there was silence once again.

"It was cheese, but at least the first three letters were right," Tetsuya stated amused.

"Let's just switch to Daiki..." Taiga groaned, having to give up already. Of course he used this opportunity to place an ugly looking yellow bean in Daiki's hand.

"Urgh!" Said one spitted it out of the window a second later.

"That was booger! I hate you now Taiga!!" he shouted, while the redhead was laughing loudly. Quaffle jumped on the table and began hooting, as if she was laughing with him.  
Their evening went on like that, eating the beans and playing a cards game where one couldn't win when they had the 'Snape card'.  
Although Daiki kept somehow losing round after round, because of Snape obviously, he found himself enjoying the time with his friends. It had been a good decision to befriend Taiga. The redhead sure was a little dumb and even clumsy at times, but not a bad friend. Like the talking hat said, Taiga's heart was just pure.


	4. The Pensieve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only had time to overlook this once, so please don't be angry when you find any mistakes :')  
> It'd be cool if you mention them in the comments, though! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ  
> Have fun!!

"Ugh, I hate Transfiguration!" Daiki groaned the next morning with dark bags under his eyes, Quaffle had kept him awake almost the whole night because she accidently ate a Bertie Bott's bean, causing her to make weird noises an owl shouldn't make.

"I think it's really interesting," Satsuki said.

"Yeah, but you never know what's going to come out of the thing you should change," Daiki replied.

"Well, this counts only for you since you can't do it right. It's always a surprise what your object transforms into," Tetsuya stated as they entered the classroom.

"You still remember when professor McGonagall gave us a stick and we should turn it into a rope?"

"Don't remind me..." Daiki groaned.

"What happened?" Taiga asked, sitting down between Daiki and Satsuki. The latter one began giggling.

"He somehow managed to turn it into a bra," she answered and Daiki flushed red.

"Satsuki, why did you have to tell him that!!"

"A bra? You've turned a stick into a bra?? That's quite amazing!" Taiga was rather admiring him than laughing at him for something so stupid.

"Yeah, I was accidently thinking about boobs that moment..." Daiki admitted.

"Accidently...?"

"Well... Boobs are great, you know??" he blurted loudly and got plenty weird looks from his other classmates. Daiki ducked down in embarrassment.

"Where's professor McGonagall by the way?" Taiga asked, knowing that it would be better for Daiki to switch the topic.

"She's here already," Satsuki smirked and waved towards the desk. Taiga furrowed his brows when there was only a cat sitting on top of it. But...

"Holy shit!!" he shouted loudly when the animal suddenly transformed into professor McGonagall.

"Please refrain from cursing in my class, Mr Kagami," she just said like nothing had happened.

"B-but..."

"Never heard about Animagi?" Tetsuya asked him and Taiga seemed to think.

"Now that you say it... Uh... I forgot it."

"Well, an Animagus, Mr Kagami, is a person that can transfigure into an animal. It has to be registered in the Ministry of Magic, though," professor McGonagall decided to answer that question.

"But today, all of you are here to transform objects. With the small difference that we're changing them into living creatures this year," she added and looked at her students sternly while walking over to a closet behind her desk.

"To make it easy for you, the objects already have the shape of an animal, a rabbit in this case." Professor McGonagall opened the doors and directed a few small statues that looked like said animals with her wand towards the students' tables. Daiki curiously inspected the little wooden rabbit that elegantly landed on his desk.

"The first one who manages to turn their figure into a real rabbit gets ten points for their house," she informed them.

"The spell you have to use is 'Lapifors'. The rest should be figured out by yourselves. Anyone who has problems is of course allowed to look the spell up in the book. You may begin now."  
The volume of the classroom went up, everyone trying to transform their statue into an animal.

"Lapifors!" Daiki said after clearing his throat and swinging his wand a little through the air. But like he'd expected, nothing happened.

"Damn, that's hard," he growled and looked around. None of the students seemed to be successful. Except Satsuki of course. Her figure was moving, but it still was a statue.

"Hey, Aomine, Kagami!" a cheerful voice suddenly laughed. Daiki had the urge to roll his eyes. That could only be one person; Midorima's super annoying comrade.

"Hi, Takao, didn't see you before!" Taiga grinned. Of course he had to play the nice guy. He just _was_ the nice guy. In contrary to Daiki...

"Ah, how mean! My presence is not that low!" he sniffed playfully.  
It is, you dwarf, Daiki would have loved to remark, but kept his mouth shut.

"I heard Aomine enlightened the whole greenhouse yesterday with your wand, Kagami! Hella amazing!" he laughed and Taiga began grumbling.

"By the way, can I have it again? I'm super hyped to see what'll happen if I use it on my rabbit figure!" Takao snatched said wand out of Taiga's hand in a blink of an eye. He was fast for sure.

"What's it always with people stealing my wand and abusing it!!" Taiga growled angrily at the loss of the object that made him a wizard.

"He's right Takao. We all know what happened last time when you used Kagami's wa-..."  
Once again Midorima was interrupted by an unstoppable Takao who casted the spell.

"Lapifors!!"

"..."

Silence.   
Daiki wondered how Kagami's wand seemed to direct every spell at Midorima when said one was in reach. Maybe he was cursed or something. Yeah, that definitely was it because he had no other explanation why the spell decided to bounce off the wooden figure and hit Midorima, who now had a pair of rabbit ears on his head.

"TAAAAKAAAAOOO!!!"

"Pffff, you look stunning, Shin-chan! It fits you!" Takao snorted, holding his hand in front of his mouth. He eventually broke out in laughter when the rabbit ears began twitching in anger.

"You are going to die a painful death, I'll make sure of that..." Midorima scowled at the other Ravenclaw with the most evil glare one could manage with glasses. Professor McGonagall finally noticed what happened and sent the two to the hospital wing to get the ears removed after reducing Ravenclaw's point radically for disturbing her lesson like that.

"Make sure to buy me a grave stone, Kagami," Takao still managed to laugh when walking out of the room with a fuming Midorima who hid his new ears under the hood of his cape. Everyone knew Takao was going to die for sure when the two were out of sight.

"My, my, but something has to be wrong with your wand, Tiger," Daiki smirked at the redhead who was hiding his face behind his hands in frustration, elbows placed on the table.

"For the last time, nothing is wrong with it!! Of course it won't listen to anyone else than me because neither of you are its owner!" he then snapped.

"Hey, calm down! I know that, too!" Daiki still grinned. Oh, he just loved it too much to rile the redhead up.

Nothing special happened after the incident with the rabbit-Midorima. Daiki's theory that the tall Ravenclaw had been a carrot in his former life was once again confirmed. Grass green hair and an ugly orange scarf that seemed to be his lucky item for today (and which totally didn't fit to his Ravenclaw uniform...), made him really look like a walking carrot. And the rabbit ears hadn't helped him in that case...

Satsuki was the only one who had managed to turn her statue into a normal sized, healthy looking rabbit by the end of the lesson. Professor McGonagall complimented her with a smile which was as rare as Tetsuya's.

* * *

 

"Haaah, I love Fridays!" Daiki stretched himself after walking out of the classroom.

"Only one lesson and then weekend!"

"I'm sorry to destroy your moment, Dai-chan, but the free time at Fridays was actually considered to make your homeworks..." Satsuki replied and Daiki comically collapsed on the floor in front of the three.

"And that means... Library!!" Satsuki cheered loudly and none of the passing students wondered about that since her love for books was as popular as Daiki himself.

"Can someone please kill me?" said one groaned weakly.

"I can call Voldemort if you want," Tetsuya suggested without hinting a joke in his voice.

"No, declined! I won't lose to that bastard! Then I'll rather die from homeworks!!"

"Let's go to the library then!" Satsuki shouted happily once again and walked ahead of their little group.

Although Daiki could tell that Taiga hated books and stuff as much as him, the redhead seemed to be amazed by Hogwarts' exaggeratedly big library.

"I've never seen so much books all at once to be honest," he admitted when he was done staring at everything.

"Right? It's the best place at Hogwarts!!" Satsuki beamed at him.

"Uh... I won't say that, but it's pretty cool..."  
Daiki snorted at that response. Of course he couldn't tell Satsuki that this place was hell when she made her puppy eyes.

Tetsuya searched them an empty table between all the book shelves, but with a window place. It was pretty nice to look outside since they were really high.

"What was homework anyway?" Daiki yawned when letting his books and quill harshly fall on the small surface of the table. Satsuki sighed.

"Why do you never listen? If it wasn't for Tetsuya and me, you'd be a total mess!"

"She means you too, Taiga, since you're almost a copy of Daiki," Tetsuya added, staring blankly at the redhead.

"What?! In which way do I resemble this idiot?!" the latter one barked.

"Hah?! Who's the idiot, stupid??!"

"Guys, calm down, we're in a library!" Satsuki hit them both with her wand which was unexpectedly painful. The two were silent after that, deciding that it was best to do what Satsuki wanted.

"I think we should begin with Potions, it's rather easy. Just write down the ingredients you need for a love potion," she instructed them.

"Love potion? Does that mean we're brewing one next lesson?" Daiki asked.

"Possible. But I have to destroy your plans if you think you can sneak a love potion out of the dungeons and give it to Romilda Vane," Tetsuya responded and Daiki's face slowly fell.

"Romilda Vane?" Taiga asked and Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"Well, Daiki has a little crush on her. But only physically, you know?" she explained.

"Oh..."

"Like I said, boobs are great," Daiki just commented.

"And I swear, I definitely _will_ get a love potion somehow!!"

"Yeah, sure, keep dreaming," Satsuki sighed again and concentrated on her homework.

"When nothing's working, I'm going to brew one myself."  
That sentence earned nothing but a few snorts from Tetsuya's and Satsuki's side.

"What? Don't you think I can do it? Professor Slughorn himself said I have great potential!" Daiki of course skipped the part where he'd have to explain that this was just because Taiga had thrown a Sopophorous bean into his boiler...

"Uhm, Daiki, I think you have to look at the ingredients then..." the redhead hinted when Satsuki nor Tetsuya said anything to that.

"Pfff, easy, it's just... What the fuck, powdered moonstone? How do you get that? There were only muggles on the moon, yet, right? And also, pearl dust?! _"_ Daiki groaned loudly, too loud for a library at least.

The four continued their homeworks after that, Daiki still a little embarrassed due to his outburst about love potions. For a while, the only noises were the quills scratching over the papers. After half an hour, Taiga stood up, saying he was done for today.

"Don't get lost!" Tetsuya shouted after him when he left the library.

"Don't worry. I'll ask someone!" Taiga grinned and waved back.

"I have the feeling we'll never see him again," Daiki stated when the three were alone.

"Oh, Dai-chan! He's not that stupid, he'll find back to the Gryffindor common room!" Satsuki replied, having to open her third inkpot already.

"Satsuki, I'm sorry, but he _is_ stupid!"

"Then look after him, if you're so concerned," she just grinned.

"Nah, too lazy, but I think I'm off here, too." Daiki stood up and got his stuff together.

"Sure, sure, tell us when you found him!" Satsuki giggled and Daiki sighed while walking away.  
Of course it wasn't his plan to help Taiga find the way. Maybe he even did so without help.

Daiki had a mission this evening;  
Snape.  
The fact that said one's Boggart turned into Daiki's mother was still bothering him. And the only thing that could help him with that was Dumbledore's Pensieve. Maybe he'd find a memory of Snape inside it. He knew that the possibility was extremely low, but it was the only thing he could do because there was no way he'd ask that snake in person what happened during D.A.D.A. So his plan was to sneak into Dumbledore's office (of course only if the old wizard wasn't there), and quickly look through the Pensieve. Nothing could go wrong there, right? At least not with his invisibility cloak. Daiki smirked at this idea. Why not? He could endure a little adventure, right?

After a little detour to the sleeping dorms to get his cloak, he noticed that Taiga wasn't in the common room and figured that the redhead was most likely wandering through the castle, stuck in a trick step or something similar. At least he couldn't disturb Daiki on his little mission then. With the invisibility cloak put under his arm, the blue haired wizard made his way to Dumbledore's office.

"Uhm... Lemon snack...?" he said to the gargoyle that was guarding the entry of said office.

"You can do better," it replied snooty, implying that the password was wrong.

"Oh, come on! It's been years, I can't remember this shit!"  
The gargoyle seemed to glare at him and Daiki sighed.

"Uhm... Lemon...ice! Lemon sweet! Lemon lollipop!! I swear it was something with lemon!!"

"No swearing here," the gargoyle just commented and Daiki began cursing instead.

"Did he change to grapefruit or what??! Let me in you stupid thing!" he shouted, but the gargoyle was being quiet, deciding to ignore the fuming wizard.

"Fine, challenge accepted! Lemon tea!! Sorbet Lemon! Citron lemon!! Lime...lemon... Sugar lemon! Sherbet Lemon!!" Daiki sure was super surprised when his opponent suddenly moved aside.

"Ha, knew it was Sherbet Lemon, stupid!" He stuck out his tongue at the gargoyle, before walking up the stairs and wrapping himself in his invisibility cloak, just to be sure. He didn't know if Dumbledore was in his office, and he wasn't keen on getting caught at all.  
But luck seemed to be on his side today, the big room was empty. Only Fawkes was there, sitting on his perch and staring at him, though he shouldn't be able to see him. Daiki wasn't paying attention to him. A bird was just a bird, right?

As if the office already knew what he was here for, the fancy closet in the corner began opening itself, and out of it flew the Pensieve, hovering just in front of Daiki's face. Said one took it and placed it on the spacious desk. When he looked inside the flat bowl, he could see silver streams of something similar to fog wandering around. There definitely were a lot of memories inside it, and Daiki suddenly wasn't as positive as before to find one from Snape and especially one that could explain the incident with the Boggart. But he should at least try, right? (Though it could also be a problem, since he still didn't know how the Pensieve really worked...)

What if he found something entirely else instead? A very personal memory of Dumbledore for example? Maybe he was hiding porn inside the Pensieve?  
Daiki shook his head quickly, Dumbledore was a decent wizard. But if it had been Daiki's Pensieve he'd have definitely saved some porn into it!   
Knowing that he was wasting time, he leaned down, touching the silver liquid with his nose.  
Here goes nothing, he thought before being sucked in by the bowl.

Daiki found himself in the same room as before a moment later. So this memory arose in Dumbledore's office. Not a bad thing to begin with, many secret things were discussed here. But after the foggy silhouettes around him formed into several Hogwarts professors, Daiki was disappointed. Though Snape was there, he stood in a circle around the desk along with McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn and other professors, including Hagrid.   
A scowl managed to sneak on Daiki's face. This definitely hadn't had to do anything with his mother. Heck, it probably wasn't even Snape's memory. Deciding that it had been a bad idea to come here, way too naïve, he was about to exit the Pensieve, but curiosity got the better of him, when the black haired former Potions teacher spoke.

"I'm against it! We can't expose our students to this danger!" Snape's voice wasn't as monotone as it usually was. Still cold, but also protestingly.

"Severus. He's just a poor boy, it's our duty to offer him a life at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore replied, calm as ever and Daiki frowned. Who were they talking about?

"No, it's not! Why Hogwarts? I understand that Durmstrang doesn't want him anymore and once I agree with Karkaroff. They should have taken his wand away and sent him back to the muggle world, but _you_ interfered!"

"Severus..."

"You almost begged to let him transfer to Hogwarts after the incident. So just tell us why?! It would have been a lot easier to just forbid him being a wizard, that could solve our problems way better!"

Were they talking about Taiga? Sure they were, Durmstrang was mentioned, but what was meant with the danger? Maybe that the redhead knew such gruesome spells that he'd used during D.A.D.A.? But it must've been something worse if Durmstrang's headmaster wanted to expel him from the wizarding world.

"Albus has good reasons to keep him at Hogwarts, Severus. All of you who are not convinced by his decision, listen to him first," professor McGonagall said, wanting Dumbledore to continue.

"Thank you, Minerva," he said, shortly shifting his glasses.

"I know that most of you are rather sceptical about the fact that I want to take Taiga Kagami to Hogwarts, especially after what happened at Durmstrang. But you have to consider something." He looked at all of them over his glasses, like he always did when announcing something serious. Daiki could swear that Dumbledore was looking at him right now, although he knew that couldn't be possible. His heart was thumping in his chest, what was all that about?

"Like everyone here in this room already knows, the dark lord is getting stronger each day. Even Hogwarts isn't safe anymore because of him. The reason why he's that mighty is simple: the number of his followers keeps increasing drastically. And we also know that he's searching for people like Mr Kagami. So what if we send him back to the muggle world after destroying his wand? Hate changes people, and when Voldemort suddenly appears in front of his entrance door, offering him might and a second chance in the world of wizardry with the only condition to follow him. What do you think Mr Kagami would say?"  
Silence filled the room and Daiki understood why. His eyes were as wide as everyone else's.

"After being treated that badly, not able to use magic anymore, wouldn't he take his offer with happiness?" Dumbledore asked once again, but didn't expect anyone to answer.

"At Hogwarts, we can keep an eye one him. He is able to find friends here, to enjoy himself. We make sure that he's always under our control, so that he won't choose the wrong way, when the situation will come where he'd have to decide between the good and the bad."

"But what about... you know..." professor Slughorn began talking after another moment of silence.

"Ah, professor Shirogane told me that Mr Kagami knows how to use the Room of Requirement," Dumbledore answered before the professor could even end his sentence.   
The Room of Requirement? What did Taiga need from there? Did he have to hide something like Daiki once did? The conversation got more confusing with each word that was being said.

"Shirogane? Eiji Shirogane?" Hagrid asked a little taken aback.

"Indeed. He was watching over Mr Kagami at Durmstrang, and I'm staying in contact with professor Shirogane as long as Mr Kagami is here," Dumbledore confirmed.

"But he's the Dark Arts teacher at Durmstrang! You can't possibly trust him!" Slughorn protested.

"I trust him as much as I trust all of you here," Dumbledore just said, without even a hint of annoyance that the other teachers seemed to disagree with him.

"I don't know, Albus. Durmstrang's reputation isn't that bad without a reason. Maybe you're right, like always, but I wouldn't trust a professor who teaches their students techniques for torturing people that easily," Flitwick admitted, as unsure as most of the professors.

"I understand that you're not convinced, but I ask you to have trust in me, too." The headmaster smiled at them a little.

"Albus is right. He knows what he does," McGonagall agreed and that seemed to satisfy at least some of the present teachers.

"And what about the other boy, what was his name again, Tatsuya Himuro?" Hagrid wanted to know.

"He was involved in the incident, too, and also the only student who wasn't obliviated afterwards," McGonagall responded.

"He also was at Durmstrang? I thought his parents taught him at home!" Sprout said surprised.

"Originally, yes. But he also was at Durmstrang for a short time. We let him begin at Hogwarts because he has a certain influence on Mr Kagami. Are there any more questions?" She looked around, but no one seemed to have something to say.

"Then the meeting shall be ended," Dumbledore announced and stood up. Daiki watched from his place between Hagrid and Slughorn how the room along with the people slowly transformed back into smoke, confirming that the memory was over. A second later, Daiki found himself in front of the Pensieve again, a little too overwhelmed for his own liking with everything that had happened.

"Daiki."  
Daiki flinched when someone called his name. He looked up and saw Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, like he did in the memory, with the difference that Daiki's invisibility cloak was laying on the table.   
Shit. He was being caught red-handed.

"Ah...uh... I-I..." he stuttered, but he knew it was useless.

"Don't bother with that, it wouldn't be the first time you sneaked into my office," the old wizard just stated and Daiki wasn't sure if he was angry or not. If he wasn't then maybe he could ask about the memory he saw in the Pensieve. He gave it a try.

"Professor, what-..."

"The memory you saw wasn't meant to be watched by you, but I think it's too late now. As I'd love to explain it, I'm not allowed to," Dumbledore answered, already knowing what Daiki was up to.

"B-but... Taiga. There's something about him, right?"   
Dumbledore sighed.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that you'll find out by yourself. It's not my right to just spill Mr Kagami's life, he's going to tell you when the time is right. You're friends with him, correct?"

"I... I guess..."  
The headmaster smiled.

"That's good. You have a quidditch game on Sunday, right?" he changed the theme.

"Uh, yeah," Daiki answered, realizing it was useless to try getting more information out of him.

"Good luck, then. We'll see us again soon, but I have to ask you to leave now, Daiki," Dumbledore friendly nodded towards him.

"Sure," Daiki mumbled and made his way out.

When he arrived back at the dorm, he noticed that Taiga still wasn't there. He remembered what Dumbledore had said in the memory. Taiga knew how to use the Room of Requirement. Why? Was that the reason he left them in the library? To get to the Room of Requirement on his own, so that no one would notice?  
There was only one way to find out...  
Daiki jumped on his bed, getting the Marauder's map.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," he whispered, pointing with his wand at it. He felt a slight tingle in his stomach when the many corridors and classrooms appeared on the map. He searched for a pair of foot prints that read the name _Taiga_ _Kagami_ _,_ but like he'd expected, the redhead was nowhere on it. Daiki was sure, he had to be in the Room of Requirement right now. If he was fast enough, he could catch him.

He quickly hid the Marauder's map again and sprinted out of the Gryffindor common room, almost falling while colliding with other students who shouted after him. He had to get to the seventh floor quickly.  Daiki was lucky when he noticed the stairs were in the best position for him and that he'd be at the Room of Requirement in no time. If his timing was right, he could confront Taiga and maybe get answers from him, why the teachers talked about him and what happened at Durmstrang. Daiki realized there were too many things he didn't know.

He soon arrived at the corridor with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. The Room of Requirement was right across from him, but Taiga was nowhere to be seen, meant that he was still inside. Daiki decided to just wait for the door to appear like it always did when someone wanted to enter or exit the secret room.

But waiting wasn't one of Daiki's strengths and after another five minutes he wondered if Taiga had gone away when Daiki had made his way to the seventh floor. But if not, what was he doing inside that long?  
It was just that moment when Daiki wanted to give up, convinced that the idiot was maybe just lost, the huge double doors suddenly appeared across the tapestry.  
Daiki stood up quickly, ready to face Taiga when he'd come out of the Room of Requirement. And not a minute later he did. The redhead carefully walked out and looked around, his eyes going wide when he suddenly noticed Daiki standing in front of him.

"D-daiki!" he shouted shocked and somehow looked a little scared.

"Uhm... h-how did you know I was here? I mean... you couldn't see a door, right?" the redhead asked and laughed nervously when Daiki kept staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"How comes that you know about the Room of Requirement?"

"Ah, so it's called like that? Ha ha, to be honest I just wanted to use the toilet reeaalllly bad and then suddenly this door appeared," he answered, rubbing the back of his head and Daiki would have believed him if he hadn't overheard the conversation between the professors.

"And you took at least twenty minutes for that?" he crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched how Taiga's pretended smile fell.

"How long are you standing here already? How did you even know I was here?" the redhead asked him, staring at Daiki like he was a ghost.

"The Marauder's map. It doesn't show the Room of Requirement and I also couldn't find you, so I figured that you'd be in there. Seems like I was right," Daiki just answered.

"So just tell me, what were you doing inside?" He made a few steps in Taiga's direction, but the latter one backed off.

"L-like I said, I was searching the toilets..."

"Liar."   
The look on Taiga's face confirmed Daiki's words, the redhead was wearing an expression one would show when they were caught doing something illegal.

"I..." He looked to the ground.

"Just tell me the truth!" Daiki cornered him, sounding angry and Taiga squinted his eyes, seeming to expect Daiki to hit him. Said one realized that he'd probably been a little too harsh and carefully laid a hand on Taiga's shoulder.

"Hey," he said, his voice a little softer and the redhead opened his eyes again.

"It's not easy to get to know you when you have so many secrets," he told him, searching eye contact. Taiga sighed, avoiding his gaze again.

"I... I had to hide something in there..." he admitted.

"What?" Daiki asked, relieved that the redhead opened up to him.

"A book."

"A book?!"

"Well, it's not a normal book," he explained.

"Inside is written down how to use some ugly spells. I got it from one of the professors at Durmstrang who wanted me to hide it in the Room of Requirement when I'd arrive in Hogwarts."  
Daiki scrunched his eyebrows.

"But that doesn't make sense! Why would a teacher give you such a dangerous book? And also, why would you bring it to Hogwarts?" he asked confused, not knowing if he should believe Taiga or not.

"Daiki, you don't know most of the students at Durmstrang. Many of them are fans of the dark lord. The professor said it would be the worst if it gets into the wrong hands. It's a book from the library there, the most dangerous one. After several attempts from students to steal it, the professor gave it to me, his wish to bring it to Hogwarts since it wasn't safe at Durmstrang anymore. We don't have a Room of Requirement after all."

"Wow, that sounds... dark and all. But seriously, a book? I know there are ones that can bite you and stuff, but I'd have never thought something like that. It sounds pretty lame, though..."

"If you don't want to believe me, then it's your problem!" Taiga pouted and Daiki sighed. He did believe him, Satsuki always told him how mighty books could be, but it wasn't settling with him that the memory's conversation was held about as something boring as a book. It really had to be a nasty one, if that was the case...

"Fine, it's a book then. God, it's always a fucking book! I hoped to hear something more exciting!" Daiki yawned, turning around, about to leave.

"Hey, it _is_ exciting!" Taiga protested, catching up to him.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

"Don't tell anyone, it's a secret!"

"I won't..."  
Taiga smacked him gently, since this promise sounded a little too bored to come over as serious.

* * *

 

"Hey, Daiki?" Taiga asked when they were in the Gryffindor common room again.

"We're friends, right?"  
Daiki looked at him, a little surprised at the sudden question.

"Yeah, sure we are," he responded a little tired.   
"But we'd be bestest friends, if you stop with all the secrets," he added, sitting down on the cozy couch in front of the fireplace. Taiga sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be, it's your thing to tell me why you had to leave Durmstrang or why your Boggart changed into yourself. Take your time," Daiki responded and turned away from him to let Quaffle, who came flying through the window, land on his palm.

"Thank y-..."

"That's what Satsuki would say."

"Huh...?"

"As long as you're not telling me what's up with you, I won't trust you," Daiki interrupted him, stroking Quaffle's soft plumage. He wasn't facing Taiga, but he could imagine the look on his face right now. The two remained silent afterwards.

Satsuki and Tetsuya returned from the library, too and the four were talking about this and that. It was like nothing had happened between Taiga and Daiki. They laughed together and insulted each other, and even though it annoyed Daiki to not know the whole truth about him, he had to admit that the redhead was a pretty decent guy, nice and sympathetic, stupid for sure, but mostly caring. He decided to believe in Dumbledore's words, he'd find out when the time was right.


	5. Hogsmeade

"Dai-chan! Dai-chan!! Wake up! You too, Taiga!" was the first thing Daiki heard on Saturday morning. And the first thing he felt was a hand slapping his cheeks several times.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Satsuki, stop it!!" he groaned and heard Taiga complaining next to him, since Tetsuya didn't spare him either.

"Get up now!!" Satsuki demanded and Daiki quickly avoided another hit by rolling to the side. Unfortunately, that caused him to fall out of his bed.

"Argh, fuck!" he cursed, having trouble to stand up.

"At least you're awake now," Tetsuya stated.

"Yeah, could've slept longer if it wasn't for you two demons!" Daiki growled, weakly throwing his pillow after Satsuki.

"You can't possibly oversleep this _wonderful_ Saturday! We're going to Hogsmeade, remember?" she sang.

"God, please spare me!!"

"Oh, come on, Dai-chan, it's gonna be fun!"

"Ugh... Seems like your definition of fun is different from mine.."

"Well, but at least I have great news for you and Taiga, too, I think," she smiled.

"And...?" Daiki sighed, not as convinced as Satsuki wanted him to be.

"Professor Slughorn reopened the Duelling Club," Tetsuya answered, amused when seeing how Daiki's face lit up.

"Honestly?? Does that mean I can kick Haizaki's fucking ass??"

"Uh, we'll see..." Satsuki said, not knowing if she should be happy about his sudden motivation or not.

"But first, Hogsmeade!!" she cheered and raised her fist into the air.

* * *

 

"Oh man, you see what I mean, Taiga? The long way is fucking annoying! Can we go back please?" Daiki complained after only ten minutes of walking.

"I'll hit you, if you do so, Daiki," Tetsuya threatened him, but without letting it sound particularly dangerous.

"Also, we're going to celebrate Taiga's place in the quidditch team!" Satsuki added.

"Alright, I got it. But I'm not buying anyone sweets, if that's what you want!"

"Aw, Dai-chan, please!"  
Not the puppy eyes, not the puppy eyes, not the- ...

"...fine..."

"Yes!!" Satsuki shouted, making a winner pose.

"Where are we celebrating by the way? Not inside the candy shop, right?" Taiga asked, laughing a little.

"There's a pub called 'The Three Broomsticks'. We can order Butterbeer there after we finished buying sweets at Honeydukes," Tetsuya responded.

"Sounds cool! I'm super excited to see Hogsmeade!"

Daiki rolled his eyes. He didn't even have to look at Taiga to see that he was grinning widely, that fucking angel.

"Whoa!" Daiki shouted startled when Crookshanks suddenly jumped out of Satsuki's bag.

"How did you get that thing through Filch's control?!" he then asked, suspecting that she had enchanted her bag again.

"Oh, you have a cat, Satsuki?" Taiga smiled at her, bending down to inspect the ugly beast.

"Ah, right, you haven't seen him before! This is Crookshanks, pretty cute right? He kept hanging around in the girls' dorm the whole time, that's why you haven't met him until now," she explained.

"Eh? Do we have a little perv here?" Daiki smirked, glancing at the animal.

"Whatever, I just wanted to take him out since the weather is nice!" Satsuki said, watching how Taiga tried to pet Crookshanks, but eventually distanced himself when the cat began hissing, seeming to glare at him.

"No luck with that one," the redhead sighed.

"Don't worry, Crookshanks just needs time to warm up to you!" Satsuki assured, letting the flat faced creature hop into her arms where it began purring.

"Do you had a pet at Durmstrang, Taiga?" Tetsuya wanted to know.

"No, even if animals _would_ like me, they weren't allowed," he responded.

"Oh, that's a pity," Satsuki exclaimed a little sad.

"Yeah, but-... Wow, is that Hogsmeade?" Taiga shouted out, pointing at the small village appearing in front of them. It looked like the houses were built during middle age, but it was quite beautiful.

"Yeah, looks nice, right? It's even more amazing in winter with all the snow," Satsuki answered.

"I won't deny that," the redhead nodded and Daiki yawned in the background.

"First stop, Honeydukes!!"  
Daiki could swear that he'll eventually get sick from Satsuki's high pitched voice, along with her way too motivated attitude.

"By Merlin's square testicles, that's what I call a candy shop!" were Taiga's first words when entering Honeydukes.

"Square?" Daiki just asked.

"How do you know Merlin's balls are square?"

"Uh... how does Satsuki know about his pink panties?" the redhead countered.

"Please shut up, before I have to use a spell on you," Satsuki groaned.  
Daiki watched how Taiga took his time examining the inside of the shop. He had to admit, it was pretty nice in here, that's why it was also very crowded. Sweets were all over the place, even dangling from the ceiling. Some of them were normal, most of them had special effects and a few would eat _you_ , when you were trying to eat them.

Another sight of the shop was the two meter purple haired Hufflepuff with several bags full of said candy. He was almost like a son to the cashiers already, since he came here by every chance, almost buying the whole store.

"And? Were you able to decide, Taiga?" Satsuki asked, already having a full bag herself.

"Uh... I don't know, maybe some of these, they look pretty cool," he said pointing at a sweet that read "Sugared Dragon Tongue" on its sign.

"Wow, are you sure? I heard they're letting you breath fire, since the "Sugared" is just meant to be a joke," Tetsuya commented and Taiga quickly retreated from the dragon tongues.

"Hey, take a few of these!" Daiki put five red, pretty normal looking, lollipops into his hands.

"Uh, thank you..."

"Dai-chan, stop being so mean and bring them back!" Satsuki nagged, snatching the sweets out of Taiga's grip. Daiki grinned complacently.

"Why? Nothing's wrong with a few blood lollipops!" he laughed.

"You know exactly that those are for vampires, you meanie!"

"What?! You have vampires here?!" Taiga asked taken aback.

"Not here, but it looks like Honeydukes has a few costumers that like buying the blood lollipops," Tetsuya said.

"Urgh, I accidently bought one on my first visit," Daiki remembered, making a face.

"Seems like not every sweet is sweet, right?" Taiga laughed.

After almost an hour, the four exited the shop with lots of candy stuffed into their pockets.

"I'm really in the mood for a nice Butterbeer now." Daiki stretched himself and walked ahead, having to hold back to not kick Crookshanks who kept getting in the way of his feet.

"Alright. To The Three Broomsticks, then," Tetsuya agreed.

The small pub was full as always, mostly with students, but also other individuals, some of them looking more mysterious than others.

"Four Butterbeer," Satsuki ordered when they got a table near the counter.

"For you always, Satsuki-chan!" Madam Rosmerta smiled at the girl and each of them got a drink in no time.

"Wow, looks delicious!" Taiga grinned, bringing the mug up to his lips.

"Wait, wait, wait! We're clinking glasses first!" Satsuki stopped him, then raised her Butterbeer, waiting for the others to the same.

"To Taiga's victory!" she cheered.

"That just sounds like I've won a war..." Taiga's comment was ignored when they contently gulped down their drinks.

"Another one," Satsuki demanded, turning around to Madam Rosmerta.

"What? No, Satsuki, you'll get drunk!" Daiki stopped her.

"As if I'd get drunk as easily as you," she retorted.

"You have to know that Daiki is a light weight," Tetsuya whispered to Taiga.

"Not true!! And don't just tell him something like that, it's embarrassing!" Daiki growled angrily.

"Ah, I didn't know that too!"   
Daiki groaned inwardly. Great, now Kise was joining them too.

"Ki-chan, what a surprise!" Satsuki stood up and quickly hugged the Barbie that had entered the Three Broomsticks and sneaked up to their table.

"May I join you?" said one asked.

"No, we were just about to go," Daiki scowled.

"Aww, you're so mean, Aominecchi!" Kise whined.

"Of course you can join us," Tetsuya said, despite Daiki's rejection.

"Thank you, Kurokocchi!!" the blonde squealed, clinging to the short wizard.

It was decided then. Everyone got another beer and Madam Rosmerta had to use an anti-drunk spell on Daiki because said one was totally wasted after finishing his third mug. Since then, his mood was down because Satsuki kept telling him that he had tried to flirt with Taiga, but of course he wasn't buying that. She had a wild imagination after all, although he wondered about it when he saw that Taiga's face reddened every time he looked in his direction.

"Okay, okay, what did I say because I obviously can't remember after Madam Rosmerta used the anti-drunk spell!!" Daiki finally growled when Satsuki wasn't stopping to giggle continuously.

"Well, you just told Kagamicchi you like the fire in his eyes. I have to say that was rather poetic, Aominecchi!" Kise cackled.

"What?! Ew, I'd _never_ say something like that!!" he protested on an instant.

"Sure, but I think Taiga liked it even more when you were babbling about how pretty his face is," Tetsuya replied and Daiki could feel the blood rushing to his face.

"What the hell, Tetsuya?! Why'd you say something like that!!" Taiga fumed, hitting the small wizard on the head lightly.

"Yeah, that's gross! And I was drunk, so no one can blame me!" Daiki added.

"Whatever, Dai-chan," Satsuki rolled her eyes, but she was grinning.

Skipping to another topic, they walked around in Hogsmeade with Kise keeping their company. They met Furihata at 'Dogweed and Deathcap' where he showed them his new Puffapod he bought, his eyes sparkling. Daiki was sure that this Chihuahua loved those horrible plants too much for his own good. Furihata, who somehow was even more clumsy than Taiga, accidently dropped the Puffapod once, causing the fragile beans to flower and submit their spores. All of them had to cough when the air suddenly was full of spores and even after a few minutes, Taiga seemed to be haunted by an unstoppable sneezing attack.

"Shit, I'm allergic to these," he whimpered weakly when it was over.

"What? I heard that only Trolls are allergic to Puffapods," Furihata remembered.

"Pfff, are you blind? Taiga _is_ a Troll!" Daiki snorted, clapping the redhead on the back.

"What was that, you dickhead?!" said one immediately barked.

"So that's why you're so dumb!" Daiki exclaimed, looking like the world was making sense now.

"At least I do not stink like one!!" Taiga fired back angrily and kicked his legs.

"Guys, not here!" Satsuki warned them and they quickly exited the Herbology shop, before someone could throw them out. Daiki's mood dropped even more when they next met Midorima and Takao, inspecting the screaming socks at 'Gladrags Wizardwear'.   
But the absolute worst thing was to see their quidditch captain Hyūga sharing a table with Ravenclaw's captain Riko at 'Madam Puddifoot's tea shop'.

"That's true love..." Satsuki sighed dreamily when the two were looking deeply into each other's eyes.

"Urgh, I'm gonna puke," Daiki groaned at the same time.

"You don't understand such things, Dai-chan!! But I promise that you'll be the same one day!" she protested.

"I'm rather going to die," was the bored answer.

"Huh? Didn't know they were honestly in love. I thought our captain was trying to get information about Ravenclaw's quidditch team," Taiga threw in, making Satsuki cover her face with her hands and groan in frustration.

"You're both such insensitive idiots!!"

"Well..."

"But you see yourself that only romantic saps go into this pink hell of a tea shop, right?" Daiki stated.

"I know, I know, but it's the dream of every couple at Hogwarts to go there at least once! And it's my biggest dream to go there with Tetsuya..."   
Satsuki pouted when Tetsuya faced another direction this moment, pretending like he had heard nothing, though Daiki noticed the little shrug of his shoulders.

"What's next?? What's next?? I want to go to 'Zonko's Joke Shop'!!" Kise shouted excitingly, almost hopping around them in a circle.

"Sure, but I would like to buy a few books at 'Tomes and Scrolls' first, so you can go without me," Satsuki said.

"Really? We can wait for you if you want," Taiga suggested and she smiled.

"Thanks, but I know exactly that you and Dai-chan won't survive going in a bookstore, so it's no problem."

"Whatever, I'm not going anyways, I've had enough. See you at Hogwarts," Daiki suddenly informed them and turned around.

"You're unbelievable, Dai-chan!" Satsuki clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Ah, wait Daiki, I'm coming with you!" Taiga decided and caught up with him.

"Uh, fine, do what you want," Daiki yawned, continuing to walk down the small path between the many cottages.

"So it's just the two of us at Zonko's, nothing to complain, right, Kurokocchi??" he heard Kise gabbling and was sure that _Kurokocchi_ was crushed in one of his enthusiastic hugs right now.

"Where are we going?" Taiga asked when Daiki didn't use the same way to go back to the castle.

"Shortcut," said one grunted, making his way to an old looking shed, Taiga following right behind.

"If you say so," the redhead shrugged, trusting the other like always.

"It's not like I'm going to complain, but this hut is kinda separated from the other cottages, it's somehow disturbing..." Taiga remarked when they were about to enter it.

"Are you scared?" Daiki smirked.

"Pff, as if!!"

"Well, I wouldn't blame you since everyone fears the Shrieking Shack."

"The Shrieking Shack?" Taiga asked.

"Yeah, that's what this place is called," Daiki explained.

"The villagers are believing it's haunted since they heard screams coming from the inside, though no one was there..." He made a serious face and enjoyed how Taiga shuddered.

"D-do we really have to use this shortcut?" The redhead gulped.

"Yup. But stay by my side or you'll never see daylight again..."

"W-what...?! I-it can't be that bad, right??" he stuttered.

"It is, not even the Hogwarts ghosts dare to enter the Shrieking Shack..."

"Stop it!! That's not funny!!"   
Daiki just laughed before entering the hut.

Not a minute later it was really filled with screams, but that was only because Daiki had decided to hide behind the door and scare Taiga, giving him almost a heart attack like the latter one claimed.

"Oh my God, you're such a scaredy cat!" Daiki mocked him and couldn't stop laughing even when Taiga began scowling at him.

"Not funny!!!" he repeated angrily.

"Fine, I should enlighten you then. The scary noises that the villagers heard were made by our former D.A.D.A. professor in year three. He's a werewolf and went there to transform," Daiki explained to him, noticing how the redhead's eyes widened in shock.

"Really?? Your professor was a werewolf? Wasn't that dangerous??" he asked.

"No, he was pretty nice actually. Definitely the best professor we ever had, but when his secret was discovered and many students knew about him, he left Hogwarts."

"Cool... I would've liked to know him! It's sad that he had to leave."

"Maybe you'll get to know him. I'm sure Tetsu's mom allows you to come with us during autumn holidays. Professor Lupin might be there, too," Daiki suggested.

"Amazing! But is it really okay if I come with you?" Taiga asked a little unsure.

"Of course, you're our friend, right?" Daiki looked away quickly when he saw the look of utter happiness on the redhead's face. His smiles really shouldn't be that beautiful...

"S-so we're friends for real now? Although you said you won't trust me??" he asked excited.

"Sure, you Baka! Don't misinterpret something, I was just moody this evening!" Daiki hit the back of his head, not wanting Taiga to look at him with his sparkling eyes anymore.

"Thank you!! I've never found friends that quickly! And thanks that you're somehow so nice to me!!" The redhead grabbed his hand in enthusiasm.

"Don't get used to it, and let me go, please," Daiki just grunted, still avoiding the other's beaming face. He didn't knew if someone could really act being such an innocent angel, holy shit.

"Heh? So you two are friends now?" A voice suddenly spoke up behind him. Daiki stiffened and Taiga jumped almost up to the ceiling, clinging on his arm for the moment of shock. Both didn't have to turn around to recognize Akashi's superior voice. Daiki rolled his shoulders while Taiga was still trembling a little next to him due to the horror stories about the Shrieking shack.

"Yeah. So what about it?" Daiki asked roughly, pretending like they were holding a normal conservation with normal people in a normal place.

"Well, we just think that you shouldn't hang out with someone like him..."  
Daiki wanted to puke just by hearing Himuro's sickening voice when he suddenly showed up behind Akashi.

"I'm not interested in what you think," Daiki growled, noticing how Taiga dropped his head.

"We're just concerned about your well-being, Daiki," Akashi said, enjoying the situation like he always did.

"Then don't decide who I should befriend and who not," he fired back, placing an arm around Taiga's shoulder.

"You should better watch out then," Himuro narrowed his eyes.

" _You_ should watch out before I'm going to kick you out of this shed. Now fuck off, you emo, I don't want to have anything to do with you. Bye to you too, Akashi." Daiki turned around to leave them, not wanting to put up with them anymore, but Taiga remained where he was.

"Tatsuya, listen, I re-..."

"Don't you ever dare talking to me again!!" The silkiness in Himuro's voice was gone.

"B-but.." Taiga whimpered, but Himuro already made his way out of the Shrieking Shack. Akashi smiled at him shortly, though it surely wasn't meant as a nice gesture, before following him..

"Tch. What a drama queen," Daiki commented, one pinky in his ear.

"Why is he even so angry at you?" he then asked and Taiga sighed.

"Well, there was a girl involved..."

"What??! But you're not telling me you have a girlfriend, are you?!" he blurted.

"I had. She was pretty," Taiga hummed.

"Seriously??! Then why did you break up?" he asked flabbergasted.

"I don't know why she ended it... Who understands girls?" the redhead groaned.

"Maybe _that_ was the problem. You were too insensitive," Daiki smirked.

"Pfff, yeah right, and you're not," Taiga remarked.

"Just saying. Also, I thought you were gay."

"Hah?! What makes you think that??" the redhead shouted.

"Well, you were the first guy who didn't check out Satsuki's chest, yet..." Daiki grinned.

"I'm just decent, that's something else!" he replied loudly.

"Maybe it's true since your girlfriend practically destroyed my theory..."

"Hell, right she did!!"

"Sure, now stop shouting," Daiki yawned, bending down to open a hatch on the wooden floor.

"Best secret passage ever," he commented when Taiga looked at him in awe.

"And it directly leads to Hogwarts?" the redhead asked.

"Sure, the exit is right under the Whomping Willow."

"The Whomping Willow??! That super murderous tree??"

"Yup, but don't shit your pants, I know how to calm it," Daiki responded, vanishing through the hatch.

"If you say so..." Taiga hesitantly followed him.

Daiki's highly praised passageway did not seem that amazing at all. After the two had walked through the dirty tunnel, getting earth and dust all over their capes, Daiki had to search for the knot of roots to paralyze the Whomping Willow almost a whole century before they finally arrived at Hogwarts again.

"It's dark already..." Taiga deadpanned and looked at his friend who was brushing off the crumbs of earth sticking in his hair.

"I remembered that differently, to be honest..." he admitted, walking ahead and wanting to get to the Gryffindor common room as quick as possible.

"Well, whatever, I think we were still faster than Tetsuya and Satsuki, since-..."

"Dai-chan, Taiga! What's wrong with the two of you? I thought you went away earlier, but we were waiting for fifteen minutes already!"

"..."

"You didn't use the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, did you??" Satsuki asked, looking at the two strictly. Neither of them answered.

"Oh, Dai-chan! That could've been dangerous!"

"Yeah, yeah..." said one grumbled, letting himself fall down on the couch in front of the fireplace, almost crushing Crookshanks in the process.

"You're unbelievable! Taiga, you shouldn't always follow him like a gullible puppy!" she scolded them and Daiki noticed that Quaffle was sitting on her shoulder, looking at him and shaking her small head.   
He was just about to doze off, hadn't he heard Tetsuya's next words.

"We should hurry if we want to make it to the Duelling Club."

"Ah, right! You said professor Slughorn reopened it, correct?" Taiga's face lit up.

"Let's go kick some ass!" Daiki was already through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

The four arrived in the duelling room, located in the dungeons, full of anticipation. Though Daiki furrowed his eyebrows when he as well spotted Snape next to Slughorn in the crowded room. The students were chattering loudly and after Daiki, Taiga, Satsuki and Tetsuya, arrived a few more people who wanted to duel or rather observe a battle.  
Professor Slughorn cleared his throat and silenced the excited wizards and witches.

"Welcome to the Duelling Club! It's a great pleasure to revive it after several years. As you can see, professor Snape is my assistant. I have to tell you that I'm a big fan of duels, but only if appropriate spells are used. You are allowed to use jinxes like 'Rictusempra', 'Expelliarmus' and 'Flipendo', but nothing to dangerous, we don't want any serious injuries, got it?" he quirked one eyebrow, looking at everyone like he wanted to warn them.

"But enough talking. You're here to have fun after all," Slughorn smiled again and turned to Snape, maybe wanting him to say something, but the latter one just kept staring coldly at the crowd in front of him.

"Uh, right, then let's begin..." the professor looked at the students and his face suddenly lit up.

"Ah, Mr Kagami! Would you be so kind and come up here? Just go to one end of the carpet."

"Uh, me...?" Taiga asked when everyone was looking at him.

"Sure, sure! Come on, it's going to be fun," Slughorn motivated him and the redhead hesitantly walked up to the long carpet where he'd face his opponent.

"And?" the professor had once again turned to the students.

"Who'd like to battle Mr Kagami?"  
Bad question. Of course no one was responding to that. Even though Daiki knew that Taiga wouldn't even think about cutting off anybody's limbs, but still...

"What's up with you? Didn't you come here to battle?" Slughorn asked a little confused and Daiki noticed how Taiga was fidgeting with his wand as he was feeling uncomfortable. Snape leaned over to the Potions professor and whispered something in his ear.

"Oh..." Slughorn just said, wearing a surprised expression on his face.

"Well, maybe under this circumstances-..."

"I think Mr Aomine is more than suited as Mr Kagami's duelling partner," Snape cut him off, his eyes piercing through anyone who dared looking at him, even at Slughorn who quickly closed his mouth again after opening it to protest.

"Well, then... Mr Aomine? Could you position yourself across from Mr Kagami, please?" he asked. Daiki groaned silently when doing as he was told. Snape obviously wanted him to die, probably hoping that Taiga would use a weird ass curse on him. He tried to remain calm by memorizing that the redhead would rather get hurt than to hurt Daiki. But one can't be sure...

"Now please approach each other, hold your wands in front of you and bow. Then you go back and the battle begins!" professor Slughorn ordered. Daiki would've liked to laugh at Taiga's shitty bow if he hadn't known that his did not look better at all.

"Let me keep my head, alright?" Daiki cocked one brow, smirking at him playfully.

"So you're just fearing for your head, huh...?" the redhead chuckled. Well, fuck it.

"And... Start!!"

"Stupefy!!"

"Protego!!"

The charm Daiki had casted just bounced off Taiga's shield.

"Expelliarmus!" he then quickly shouted, grinning when the redhead fumbled with his wand when the spell hit him. Daiki used the short moment of distraction to try something else.

"Levicorpus!"   
Taiga's feet suddenly left the ground and he was turned over, dangling upside down by his ankles.  
What an easy match, Daiki smirked, but he wasn't prepared for what came next. The redhead fastly managed to pick up his wand that had fallen to the ground, aiming at Daiki.

"Petrificus Totalus!"  
He barely managed to dodge by throwing himself on the ground. But it took him too long to stand up again.

"Impedimenta!" Taiga shouted and Daiki found himself on the floor again, thrown back by the jinx. The students cheered. Quickly turning on his back, he pointed his wand at Taiga again.

"Stupefy!!"

"Petrificus Totalus!!"

Both spells hit them at the same time, causing Daiki to go rigid, not being able to move one part of his body, and Taiga to black out, still with his feet in the air.

"Well, looks like a draw..." professor Slughorn cleared his throat and Daiki had to squint to even see him, not able to turn his head. Snape somehow looked really pissed like someone had burnt his favorite Potions book. If Daiki could, he would have laughed that the snake really thought a duel against Taiga was more dangerous than against anyone else.

Slughorn freed Daiki from the curse and then reversed the spell he'd used on Taiga, carefully letting him sink to the ground. It looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

"Uhm, yeah... I think we can continue with a second duel, but please take Mr Kagami to your dorm, alright, Mr Aomine?" Slughorn spoke and Daiki nodded reluctantly. He should've thought about using 'Stupefy' on him earlier, now he had to carry the sure as hell heavy Taiga up to the Gryffindor common room...

"Holy fuck! He has the weight of a grown Troll!!" Daiki cursed loudly after exciting the Duelling Club, dragging Taiga with one arm over the floor.

"Dai-chan, you can't do this, he'll get hurt!!" Satsuki who followed him along with Tetsuya gasped.

"Why not? He's sleeping like a stone!" Daiki replied, but his friends were against the idea to just pull him up to their dorm like that.   
In the end Satsuki and Tetsuya each grabbed a leg and Daiki both of Taiga's arms, trying to carry him like that.  
After five minutes, they realized that it seemed to be ineffective since they had only managed to get ten meters further from their original position.

"Okay, so obviously this isn't working," Satsuki stated, panting a little due to Taiga's weight.

"Why don't you just use Wingardium Leviosa?" Daiki grunted after setting the redhead on the ground.

"My wand is a little stubborn today, so this also isn't an option," she sighed.

"What?! It's stubborn? Since when do sticks of wood have feelings??"   
Satsuki just stared at him.

"As much as you won't like it, you have to carry Taiga on your back," she said and Daiki groaned.

"Oh God, I'm going to die. My shoulders won't withstand the weight of this boulder!"

"As poetic as that was, Daiki, we have no other choice. Also, it's your fault that he's unconscious now," Tetsuya responded.

"Fine... Like you want..." Daiki bent down and his friends helped him to settle Taiga on his back. It had to look pretty funny because they were still standing in the middle of the corridor.

Finally, the three were walking again, Daiki complaining with every step. He was sure that Satsuki would've taken a photo if cameras were existing in the wizarding world, from the way she looked at them. He implored her to stop smiling creepily at the two, but her smile only morphed into a smirk when Taiga suddenly nuzzled his face into Daiki's neck, obviously searching comfort in his sleep.

"Aawww..."   
Daiki rolled his eyes when Satsuki made her weird squealing noises and he could hear Tetsuya snorting in the background.

He managed to carry the heavy redhead to his bed just in time before collapsing on the floor, wheezing heavily. Daiki would've slept there if Tetsuya and Satsuki hadn't pulled him up into his own bed. 

* * *

 

"And? Are you three ready for the match?" Satsuki asked the next morning, happily chewing on a toast.  
The reactions were quite different; Taiga grinning widely, admitting that he was excited as hell, Daiki being bored, grunting that he hated Slytherin, and Tetsuya just being quiet and eating his egg.

Daiki and Taiga both avoided talking about yesterday evening's event because the two would blush crazily when Satsuki mentioned how cute they'd been, Daiki carrying him the whole way up to the sleeping dorms. It was an understatement to say that Taiga was embarrassed as fuck.

"Daiki, Taiga, please finish up, we have to go or Hyūga will kill us," Tetsuya stated flatly after Taiga had won another eating battle against Daiki.

"Sure thing, let's get our brooms!" The redhead almost jumped up the whole way to their dorm, babbling about how agitated he was for his first quidditch match as a Gryffindor.

To their relief, Hyūga did nothing more than hitting them when they arrived exactly two minutes too late. But of course he forgot to scold Tetsuya, since he'd claimed that he'd been there the whole time already. Merlin bless his low presence!

"Get ready, everyone! Although it's just a practice match, we can't lose this, alright? There are also going to be spectators, so we're fighting to keep our good reputation in quidditch!" their captain announced before the team entered the court. Taiga noticed how Furihata was trembling and asked him if he was fine, but the Beater assured that he was always nervous before a game.

The players lined up and Daiki scowled when seeing that Himuro was under them. So the emo could play quidditch? From all teams he disliked Slytherin's the most. There was Akashi, their Searcher and captain ( and he still was the kindest from all of them...), next to him stood this fuckface Haizaki along with Hanamiya and Mibuchi, forming the Chaser trio. And not to forget Mayuzumi, a second version of Kuroko with dead eyes and without a heart, being the Beater along with Himuro. The keeper was some Seto guy who always slicked his hair back before a game.

"I'm looking forward to a good game," Akashi smiled, shaking Hyūga's hand.

"Let's have a fair game," Gryffindor's captain responded, walking back to his team.


	6. About secrets and (bad) places to hide in

There was a loud whistle and the Quaffle was thrown into the air. Madam Hooch then released the golden Snitch and the Bludgers out of their case.  
Of course it was Daiki who got the Quaffle in his hands first. Not two seconds later he found himself between Haizaki and Hanamiya, both trying to steal it, even with force. But Daiki, as arrogant as he was, just stuck out his tongue, spurted upwards with immense speed and let the two behind him. Like always he made his way to the goals alone and scored the first points for Gryffindor. Though he knew it was only a practice match, Daiki somehow missed the cheering crowd.

Now Slytherin started attacking, too. Gryffindor's two Beaters were having troubles hitting the Bludgers in Haizaki's and Mibuchi's direction because the two were passing the Quaffle to each other quickly while changing positions. Daiki was just about to recognize their next move, wanting to snatch the leather ball out of the air, but someone was faster than him. He saw a flash of red stealing the Quaffle in one fluent movement. Haizaki's and Mibuchi's eyes were as wide as Daiki's as they just watched how Taiga dodged the two Bludgers that Mayuzumi and Himuro had hurled in his direction. He elegantly made it to the goals, faking left and then scoring through the right ring, leaving everyone stunned. Daiki wondered if it was the same when he was playing, that most of the others were just watching him in awe. He grinned. Taiga seemed to be pretty good, but Daiki knew that the redhead still needed ages to be compared to him.

The next points were made by Haizaki, though. Himuro managed to hit Kiyoshi's leg with a Bludger in the right moment, causing him to slur a little through the air, not being able to keep the Quaffle from flying right next to his ear through the ring.

The game went on, Daiki scoring multiple points on his own. Wakamatsu once tried to push him off his broomstick, yelling that he hadn't even touched the Quaffle yet and that he'd like to play too. Daiki just rolled his eyes and looked over to Taiga. Said one wore a focused expression, determined to win.  
The Quaffle was in Slytherin's hands again when Daiki suddenly spotted a golden flash from the corner of his eyes. The Snitch! He quickly glanced at Tetsuya who noticed it too and began speeding up, Akashi right behind him. Daiki bit his lip. Not yet, he wasn't done here.

"Daiki, watch out!!" Taiga's voice brought him back to his current situation. He noticed the Bludger that was aimed right at his face too late. His eyes widened. That never happened to him! Daiki couldn't dodge anymore, but in the last moment, someone else blocked his sight, sparing him to get hit by the Bludger.

"Ugh!!" Taiga shortly lost his balance after the hard ball had crashed into his back.

"Wha...?!" Daiki couldn't end his sentence, due to the redhead already being back, trying to prevent Slytherin from scoring, but failing.

"Aomine, are you dreaming or what??" Wakamatsu shouted right into his ear.

"Tch."

When Daiki got the Quaffle again, he was suddenly cornered by all three Chasers of the opponent team. Hanamiya was ramming him from the side violently and Daiki scowled, reluctantly passing the ball to Taiga. Unfortunately Haizaki reacted quickly to that, wanting to get into the redhead's way, but a Bludger suddenly hit his left arm, making him cry out in pain right with the ugly cracking sound of a broken bone. Taiga looked up surprised to spot Izuki, showing him his thumb up.

"That's what I call a _Fast Break!_ " he grinned. Daiki watched how Taiga furrowed his brows in confusion, not seeming to understand and kept going.   
But the Seto guy was prepared this time. The redhead seemed to notice that too, so he quickly passed to Daiki who broke out from Mibuchi and Hanamiya in a blink of an eye. Of course he scored, but Taiga's grin was even more of a reward than a few points.

* * *

 

The game ended with Akashi catching the Snitch. He had followed Tetsuya the entire time, but overtook him in the right moment, effectively ending the game and adding hundred-fifty points to Slytherin's score. They won with just ten points difference.

Daiki clicked his tongue in annoyance. At least it only had been a practice game.

"That's your fault for not passing to me!!" Wakamatsu shouted at him angrily, but Daiki ignored him like always. He flew down with the others to let Hyūga announce a few words.

"Well, that was close. But I guess it was okay since we scored much more than Slytherin with the Quaffle. Now you just have to work a little on your Seeker skills, Kuroko." He glared a little at the plain wizard who looked even smaller right now.

"I'm sorry," he murmured and their captain sighed.

"Nah, you did well. Especially our Chaser combo. You sure are a nice addition for the team, Kagami!" he grinned.

"Thanks!!" The redhead blushed, smiling happily.

"Also, Shun, that was an amazing hit with the Bludger!"  
Izuki sure was about to make another pun out of it, but Hyūga beat him to it.

"Now change in the locker rooms and have a nice Sunday, everyone!" He held out his fist, wanting the others to join him.

"Gryffindoooor..."

"Fight!!"

On their way to the locker rooms, Daiki saw Satsuki grinning at Taiga, Tetsuya and him, Quaffle sitting on her shoulder, chirping loudly.

"I'm waiting for you in the common room!" she shouted at them, before turning around to leave the court.

"Hey, uhm... how's your back?" Daiki asked when changing next to Taiga.

"Huh?" Said one looked at him in bewilderment.

"The Bludger pretty got you there, right?" he explained more clearly.

"Well, just be glad that he was sacrificing himself for your sorry ass," Wakamatsu growled from the other end of the room.

"Ah, it's okay. I just didn't want you to get hurt," Taiga smiled at him and Daiki was sure he was about to melt because, holy shit, how could someone be so pure??

"You sure you're fine? Your back is pretty red there. No, wait it's purple. By Merlin's burly broomstick, that's the biggest bruise I've ever seen," Furihata commented, inspecting Taiga's back.

"Bludgers must be really painful..." he added, whimpering a little.

"Don't worry, that wasn't the first one smashing into me," Taiga patted the Chihuahua's shoulder.

"You should visit the hospital wing later. Madam Pomfrey can heal such injuries in no time," Kiyoshi suggested.

"Thanks. I'll do that," the redhead responded.   
He and Daiki were the last ones to exit the locker rooms. Right at the same time with some other people he would've liked to avoid.

"Hey, Aomine, not able to dodge that Bludger, huh?" Haizaki sneered at him and Daiki began scowling, coming to a halt, when a few players of Slytherin's quidditch team came out of their changing rooms. To Daiki's displeasure Haizaki's arm seemed to be fine. Damn Akashi's healing spells...

"Be thankful you had your little dog jumping in for you, or else you'd have an extremely funny looking face right now I would have loved to enjoy," the Chaser drawled.

"Who're you calling a dog, shithead," Taiga glowered, standing next to Daiki.

"Who's following the great Daiki Aomine to every place he goes?" Haizaki countered and Taiga narrowed his eyes.

"I reckon you're even accompanying him to the same toilet stall to watch him piss."   
Hanamiya and Seto laughed behind him.

"What the fuck do you want?!" Aomine snapped, close to grabbing Haizaki by the collar.

"Heh, defending your pet? That's cute, are you also sleeping in the same bed?"

"That's enough!" Taiga hollered.

"Oohhh, now I'm scared! Are you going to cut off my limbs, freak?" he laughed, the other two Slytherins joining him again.

"Get lost, you pricks!" Daiki shouted furiously.

"Eh? Now that I remember right, Aomine, wasn't Snape's Boggart your dear mother?" Haizaki remembered, causing Daiki to look at him startled.

"So it was her? I heard you whimpering her name."

"And?" he hissed between clenched teeth.

"Well, I'm just wondering what that could mean... Maybe she had a love affair with him?" he joked nastily.

"So your mommy was a slut, Aomine?" Hanamiya added, grinning sadistically.

"Shut up!!" Daiki yelled, but he was ignored.

"Well, no wonder since you're an accident. Are you sure you know who your father was? Who knows? At least your parents died, serves them right for setting you into the world. Typical for a miscarriage to end up like you..."

That crossed the line and Daiki launched forwards, punching Haizaki straight in the face. The latter one stumbled backwards, falling on his ass. That had been a powerful hit for sure, considering his bleeding nose.

"Daiki, stop!!" he heard Taiga shouting behind him, but wasn't paying attention to his words. Daiki pulled Haizaki up after making sure that Hanamiya and Seto had backed off quickly, wanting to give him another piece of his mind, but an angry voice interrupted him.

"Mr Aomine!! I can't believe what I'm seeing right now! Fifty points deduction for Gryffindor! Your first official match is canceled!" Madam Hooch stood right behind him, wearing a rare look of utter fury and disappointment on her face. Daiki dropped the half conscious Haizaki to the ground and turned around to protest, but didn't have a chance when Madam Hooch lectured him again.

"Do this again, and you can forget quidditch for the rest of the year!" she turned around to leave, ordering Haizaki to follow her. Daiki paled, his mouth standing open.

"Fuck!!" he cursed loudly, hitting the wall next to him with full force, causing the skin on his knuckles to rip and start bleeding. He continued cursing, not aware of Taiga looking at him nervously.

"Daiki..."  
Said one turned around enraged.

"What?!! You have something to say, _freak?!_ " Deep inside him, Daiki knew that it wasn't right to let his anger out on his friend, but like always, he couldn't control himself. He didn't even stop when Taiga looked at him with a hurt expression.

"Oh God, oh God!! I'll kill Haizaki, he did that on purpose!! Don't fucking touch me!!" he spitted when the redhead approached him again. Daiki just went away afterwards, wanting to be alone.

"Daiki, wait!" Taiga's words made him speed up even more and soon he was sure the redhead wasn't following him anymore.

Of course he wasn't angry at Taiga, but he didn't want him as company right now. Losing fifty points at once and the punishment to not play quidditch were riling him up like nothing else. It had been similar with Umbridge in his fifth year. He hadn't been able to play quidditch for a whole year and it had been his worst time at Hogwarts ever. He definitely didn't need a repetition of that.

When Daiki wanted to be alone, he always ran down an abandoned corridor, leading to a secret entry to a  
balcony on the sixth floor in Hogwarts. He once found that place on the Marauder's map, wondering why it had no door. He'd tried to go through the wall, but this also hadn't worked. After he had had a fight with his friends he went there again, and in contrary to before, he could enter the balcony just through the cobblestoned wall.

Right now, Daiki was sitting on the small balcony, staring at Hogwarts' Lands, but having a hard time to enjoy the amazing view.  
He almost got a heart attack when he suddenly spotted a movement from the corner of his eye and someone was unexpectedly sitting down next to him.   
It was Taiga. Of course it was Taiga. He'd been the only one chasing after Daiki, and it looked like he found him.

"What're you doing here, the wall just lets people through that want to be alone," he mumbled, placing his head on his knees.

"Maybe it wanted me to be alone _with_ you," the redhead shrugged, not looking at him.   
Silence.

"That doesn't even make sense..." Daiki murmured.  
Silence.

"Sorry for my outburst," he managed to squeeze out of himself and felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders when Taiga faced him to wave his wonderful smile at Daiki.

"Don't worry, I can understand that you were angry. I've been in similar situations," he responded and Daiki sighed.

"Yeah, it just sucks. Everything sucks. It's super shitty to be Daiki Aomine, you know?" he was close to pouting.

"What? I don't believe you!" Taiga chuckled.

"I mean, you're awesome at quidditch, you're cool, you manage to do everything you want, you're amazing, you have many fans, everyone has trust in you, did I mention cool already? Because I think you're really cool and-..."

"By Merlin's glittering gloves, stop it already, it gets embarrassing!!" Daiki cut him off red-faced, earning a childish grin from Taiga.

"I originally meant it sucks that everybody knows about me." Daiki raised his gaze to the sky.

"My whole damn life, the things I like or not, the fact that my parents died... Then there's this annoying responsibility along with all the concerned people telling me I have the eyes of my mother," he scoffed.

"But that's not a bad thing. The eyes, I mean. They have a nice color," Taiga hummed.

"But... It's just frustrating because I don't know how she looked in real life. I wish I had a real memory of her, and one of dad, too."

"Yeah, I understand."

"No, you don't!!" Daiki suddenly blurted, startling Taiga a little.

"Everybody keeps telling me how they understand, how they feel with me, but they don't..." he repeated, not as loud as before.

"And why are you so sure that _I_ don't have a clue how you feel?"   
Daiki looked at the redhead by the slight change of his voice. Taiga was smiling at him, but it somehow looked forced.

"So your parents are also... I'm sorry..." Daiki directed his gaze to the ground, ashamed that he'd said that to the redhead without knowing about his own situation. But it was nothing new that Daiki was a little self-centered.

"Ah, no, God no, don't be sorry!" Taiga quickly replied, causing a confused look to appear on Daiki's face.

"I mean... They..." The redhead bit his lip, avoiding his gaze.

"They were both death eaters... so, you know, you're the last one who should be sorry for them," he laughed bitterly and Daiki was staring at him shocked.

"What?!" he asked aghast.

"I- ... I didn't tell you before because I was scared you don't want to be friends with me then..." Taiga's shoulders slumped.

"They supported Voldemort with everything they had and I guess you can also blame them for your parents' death in a way..." he added when Daiki wasn't saying anything. He flinched when said one suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Taiga, listen, I'd never ever push you away because of something like that! Sure, I didn't expect that at all, but other students like Haizaki have death eaters as parents too, and they're proud of it! That's disgusting, and you're not because I know you want to kick that noseless bastard's ass as much as I want to!" Daiki exclaimed.

"Thanks..." Taiga muttered.

"How... How did they die...?" he then asked, his voice low again.

"It... It was just two years ago... after the quidditch match between Bulgaria and Ireland, there were-..."

"Seriously?! I was there!!" Daiki cut him off startled, watching how Taiga's eyes widened a little when processing his words.

"Then you know there were death eaters, you saw them, right? Along with the... the dark mark..." he whispered the last part.

"Yeah, that was horrible..." Daiki mumbled, both their voices low now.

"And there was also a fight with the ministry... Most of the death eaters disapparated after spotting the dark mark on the sky, but some remained where they were, fighting for... Voldemort."  
Daiki noticed how Taiga needed his time telling him this. He probably was the only one who ever heard this story from him, and he felt a bit honored that Taiga trusted him that much.

"My parents were there too, they wouldn't give up, though the ministry overpowered them. Many people were killed and... my parents, they also ended up dead because they were refusing to go to Azkaban. And that's everything, I guess..." The redhead made himself smaller with every sentence.

"Wow, that... that's cruel..." Daiki decided to say since he didn't really know what to do in such situations.

"I'm sorry..." he added, when Taiga just stared into space, his eyes unusually dull.

"Like I said, dont-..."

"I'm sorry for _you_ ," Daiki said more precisely, making Taiga look at him.

"All of this... It sucks, right? It really sucks."

"Yeah," the redhead lowered his gaze to the ground. It was silent again, none of them knowing what to say.

"Where were you?" Daiki finally asked after several minutes.

"Huh?"

"When... it happened, I mean."  
Taiga looked at him again and this time Daiki wasn't able to read the emotions in his eyes.

"At home. I think they loved me, I was their only child after all. No, they _did_ love me. Every time I cried my mom would hug me, wiping away my tears and my dad would ruffle my hair, saying everything will be fine. Until I was eleven, I didn't even know they were doing something bad. I only realized it when the students at Durmstrang began spreading rumors about my family, avoiding me when I tried talking to them.

I was twisted back then. There had been a time where I thought myself that Voldemort was great because of my parents. I had fights with them about it later. I wanted them to stop following him, but they refused. Sometimes our fights were even violent, but they still loved me.

And now I don't know if I should miss them or not, they were my parents after all. I'm not even sure if I'm _allowed_ to miss them since they did many bad things." Taiga placed his hands on the sides of his head, squeezing his eyes together after telling Daiki everything. The latter one was a little overwhelmed by everything. Should he comfort the redhead? He definitely should. What would Satsuki do right now?

"It's okay... Nothing was your fault, so I think you can miss them as much as you want," he murmured, awkwardly rubbing Taiga's shoulder. But it seemed to work since the redhead smiled a little.

"Thanks. And also thanks for listening to me."  
Daiki hummed in response, not knowing if he should retreat his hand or not. He decided to let it stay where it was when Taiga suddenly began shuddering, continuing with his story.

"Once my parents told me that... _he_ was at our house. I can't remember since I was only a year old, it must've happened just a week before he tried to kill you, but they told me proudly how he visited us. They also allowed him to see me and it can't be true since I shouldn't be able to memorize something like that, but..." He watched how his hands began trembling a little.

"I'm always thinking I can still feel his cold hand stroking my head..."  
Daiki suddenly felt like he was freezing and he was sure that Taiga was the same.

"At least I'm getting everything now..." Daiki slowly whispered, taking his hand off the redhead's shoulder.

"Why the Boggart looked like you. You're not afraid of your real self, you're scared of the part inside you that keeps telling you to be like your parents, to follow Voldemort. You're scared to take the wrong turn."

"Yeah. I think you put it well, Daiki."  
Daiki barely understood him because of the crack in his voice. Taiga laid back, staring into the sky. He had to close his eyes after a few seconds because the sun was shining brightly which didn't fit to their conversation at all.

"Thanks for still being my friend," Taiga mumbled and the words needed a little to reach Daiki's brain since he'd been content with watching Taiga's face that was enlightened by the sun.

"Don't worry about that. Whatever happens, I'll make sure you have my back," he huffed and the redhead smiled a little.

"You're so cool..." he laughed and Daiki cleared his throat in embarrassment.   
Taiga suddenly made a face when his injured back was hurting again because of the laughing.

"You should go to the hospital wing," Daiki suggested and helped Taiga getting up. A confused look crept onto his face when the redhead didn't let go of his hand.

"That looks nasty," he said and Daiki noticed that it was the hand with whom he'd punched the wall.

"I think you'll have to accompany me to the hospital wing then," Taiga grinned, and the mood wasn't as gloomy as before.

"I guess," Daiki chuckled and freed his hand to inspect his purple knuckles that were covered with crusted blood.

* * *

 

"Daiki-chan!! How do you always manage to hurt yourself at the beginning of a school year!" Madam Pomfrey approached them as soon as they entered the hospital wing.

"Ah, uhm... quidditch..." Daiki just muttered unintelligibly. The healer sighed loudly.

"I'm sure that murderous game will be your death one day... Now, what did you do this time? You don't come here without having an injury..." She looked at him like a nagging mother.

"To be honest it's not me I'd like you to look at. A Bludger has gotten Taiga pretty bad," Daiki explained, patting the redhead's shoulder and pushing him towards Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh, the newbie! So you're also a quidditch maniac like Daiki-chan?"  
Taiga just nodded, probably feeling a little awkward.

"It's just my back, nothing too serious..." he then said.

"So I guess a heavy bruise? I can fix that in a few minutes, please lay down in the bed over there and take off your cape," she commanded and turned around, searching for some medicaments in the cupboard.

"But nice of you to bring him here, Daiki-chan. I've never seen you this kind before!"

"W-what...! I'm always trying to be kind!" Daiki blushed.

"Yeah, right. Try telling that someone else," she looked at him and he was to slow to hide his injured hand behind his back. Madam Pomfrey sighed again.

"Oh, Daiki-chan, please stop getting in trouble the whole time! Wait a second, I'll give you an ointment for that." She rummaged through the cupboard again and Daiki felt a little bad for her.

"Now take this and let me work. You can wait for your friend in the Gryffindor common room, I'll have to mix another medicament for his Bludger injury first!" She placed a tube into his hand and shooed him out of the hospital wing. 

* * *

 

"Where's Taiga?" Satsuki asked as soon as Daiki entered Gryffindor's common room through the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Still with Madam Pomfrey," he just grunted, throwing the salve for his knuckles on the couch.

"I'm hungry, gonna grab something to eat," he then informed them, exiting again.

"Sure, Dai-chan, just leave us alone!" he still heard Satsuki groaning, but that wasn't keeping him from going to the kitchens. Sometimes he really didn't know what he should do without the Marauder's map.

Daiki went down to the basement and into the corridor with food themed paintings. He quickly searched the picture with the bowl of fruits. Once he found it, he tickled the pear that began giggling and forming into a green door handle. Daiki grinned and was about to enter, but the same moment he wanted to go in, someone came out. It was a small creature stumbling out of the kitchens, crashing into Daiki's legs and rubbing its hurting nose after the impact that had caused it to fall to the ground.

"Dobby?" Daiki asked surprised. The House-elf looked up at him with his big eyes.

"Daiki Aomine, sir!!" Dobby then squeaked, jumping up and hugging his legs.

"Dobby missed you, sir! But Dobby must punish himself for not visiting Daiki Aomine first!"

"Ah, no, no, stop!" The wizard quickly prevented the House-elf from hitting his small head against the door.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you! How's Winky doing?" Daiki crouched down, after Dobby stopped trying to struggle out of his grip.

"Winky is fine, sir! She's still drinking much, much Butterbeer, but not as much as before, sir!"

"Ah, that's good. And? Does Dumbledore pay you well?" he then asked.

"He does, sir! Dobby is super rich now! Has Daiki Aomine gotten the socks Dobby sent him for his birthday?" The small elf hopped around in excitement.

"Ah, uh... sure, they're nice!" Daiki managed a fake smile, not wanting to tell Dobby that the socks he always gifted him were... a little special.

"But let's go inside. We can't keep talking in front of the door, can we?" he added and stood up.

"Sure, sir!" Dobby ran ahead, not without stumbling over his own feed.   
All House-elves began staring at Daiki when the two entered the kitchens. The wizard knew he'd never get used to this enormous room with its pans and pots hanging and standing all over the place, along with the uncounted number of stoves and ovens. The small creatures scurrying around hectically were part of the image.

"Does Daiki Aomine want something to eat?" Dobby asked him and Daiki nodded.

"A few sandwiches would be nice," he said and as if it was a commando, a few House-elves immediately began preparing food for him. One elf approached him, giving him an apple, bowed and quickly hopped away.

"Uh, thanks..." Daiki said, assuming that the fruit was an apology for the waiting time. House-elves really were amazing. Daiki would love to get one himself some day (after leaving the Dursleys forever behind him), but of course he'd pay them. Right, that was one of his goals. He'd never mistreat a House-elf like the Haizaki's did.

"Uhm... can I have another three please?" he asked the elves after they gave him a lunch packet, and they quickly nodded, continuing their work.

"Three? Did Daiki Aomine befriend another student this year?" Dobby asked him happily, tugging at his cape.

"Yeah," he just said when his arms were suddenly filled with food. It rather looked like it was for ten people, not four, but well... House-elves.

"Please come back anytime soon. We'll make sure to prepare the best for you, sir," an elf chirped shyly.

"Thanks, that's nice," Daiki hummed and left the kitchens.

"Take care of yourself, sir! Dobby will throw himself off the astronomy tower if something happens to Daiki Aomine!" Dobby shouted after him as Daiki vanished through the door.

He sighed loudly. At least he'd gotten his friends something too. Daiki just hoped it would keep Satsuki from jinxing him since he'd left her and Tetsuya in the common room without more than a few harsh words earlier.

When he arrived back, Taiga also was there already, chatting with Tetsuya and Satsuki.

"Lunch," Daiki announced, throwing the packed up sandwiches at each of them.

"Ah, thanks," Taiga catched his a little surprised.

"Dai-chan, don't tell me you stole it from the kitchens again!" Satsuki immediately nagged.

"I didn't steal it, as soon as I was entering, the House-elves practically threw it at me!" he defended himself, eating his sandwich. Satsuki sighed.

"How's Dobby?" Tetsuya asked him.

"Dobby?" Taiga looked at him confused.

"A House-elf I once freed. And he's doing fine, except the fact that he promised to throw himself off the astronomy tower if he's not able to protect me," Daiki explained quickly.

"What?!" Satsuki gasped.

"Come on, you know Dobby..."

The four then finished eating in silence, Taiga being the first like always. Quaffle joined them in the end, she probably had smelled a croissant and came flying through the window, landing on Daiki's head where he fed her with a few crumbs.

"I have private lessons with professor McGonagall right now, see you later!" Satsuki announced, standing up to leave.

"And I'm also gonna thank the House-elves in the kitchen. I hope they'll never let you in again, Dai-chan!" she grinned and waved.

"Wait, private lessons on Sunday?!" Taiga asked startled.

"Holy shit!" Daiki commented when Satsuki just kept smiling.

"I have to leave, too. Hagrid wants me to help him with something," Tetsuya informed them and Satsuki giggled.

"Enjoy your sweet alone time!" were her last words before she and Tetsuya disappeared through the portrait.

"What the hell," Daiki mumbled, taking Quaffle from his head and setting her down on the small table.

"Ah, I almost forgot! Madam Pomfrey wanted me to give you this!" Taiga suddenly remembered, taking a folded note out of his pocket, along with some liniment.

"Another salve?" he sighed while having a look at the note.

"What the hell...?"

"What is it?" Taiga asked him.

"You haven't read it?" Daiki sighed with scrunched eyebrows, still focused on the letter.

"No, she said it was for you," the redhead denied. Daiki rolled his eyes while reading through it once again.

_"Hey_ _Daiki-chan_ _,_  
_I would've loved to keep your cutie, but I think you want him back!_  
_Also, the bruise on his back has vanished, but not completely healed. I'd like you to help him spread the salve on his back since he can't reach the spot!_  
_Kisses, Mm Pomfrey ;)"_

"Daiki, what's up?" Taiga asked him after Daiki scowled at the note for several minutes.

"Nothing," he grunted, throwing the note over his back inside the fire place. Well, it would've landed there, if Quaffle hadn't decided to catch it with her small beak and bring it over to Taiga, letting it fall into his hands.

"Quaffle, you little traitor!" Daiki shouted angrily, but knew it wasn't her fault since it was an owl's task to deliver letters. And Quaffle was still learning after all.

"Ah, so the salve is for me?" Taiga looked at him after also reading the letter.

"Yeah, I guess, so help yourself because I'm not going to rub it on your back." Daiki wagged his hand through the air.

"You're mean," Taiga pouted, looking like a child that wasn't allowed to have their favorite sweets for breakfast.

"Fine," Daiki sighed reluctantly.

"How do we use it?" He turned the salve around.

"Most effective in the late evening hours," Daiki read and groaned.

"Sometimes I hate magic..."

"What are we doing in the mean time? It's two pm," Taiga said, glancing at the common room's big clock.

"We're sneaking into the dungeons and steal a love potion," Daiki suggested with a straight face.

"Honestly?!"

"Yes." He stood up and entered the dorms to get the Marauder's map, Taiga following right behind.

"How's the plan?" the redhead whispered when the two exited the Gryffindor common room, leaving the few students inside it behind.

"We don't have one, idiot. It was a spontaneous idea that wether works or not," Daiki grunted, inspecting the map and sighing in relief when he saw Filch and Mrs Norris leaving the dungeons.

"This is super exciting! My first Hogwarts adventure!" Taiga exclaimed and Daiki shook his head.

"Pff, that's nothing. I'm doing such things practically everyday," he bragged, leaning back when Taiga scooted closer to also have a look on the map while they walked down the stairs.

"Oi, watch where you're walking, unless you want to have another trip with a trick step," Daiki warned him when the redhead stumbled a little. They soon reached the dungeons, but were unsure if they should keep going since the Marauder's map was showing them footprints with the names _Horace Slughorn_ and _Severus Snape._

"They're not in the Potions classroom, so it should be okay," Daiki decided and quickly put the map away because of the looks that were given the two since they stood in the middle of the corridor with an oversized map.

"Come on," he briefly looked around and opened the classroom's door with _Alohomora_ _,_ trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, not wanting any Slytherins strolling around in the dungeons to see them.

"Nice," Taiga commented after the door closed behind them. Now that they were inside, they noticed it really was stupid to come here unprepared. Daiki didn't even know what a love potion looked or smelled like.

"I think we have to search then..." he grumbled, looking at the many shelves with all the potions and weird ingredients inside glasses with yellow liquids.

"Ew, is that the head of a snake?" Taiga was inspecting a rather creepy shelf.

"Wow, there's also a werewolf fang!"

"Shut up, and help me find the love potion!" Daiki cut him off annoyed, causing Taiga to click his tongue.

"Be grateful I'm even that nice to help you, Aho," he reminded him a little pissed off.

"Whatever, do you know what a love potion looks like?" Daiki asked him rudely.

"How should I know?? But I'm pretty sure they're pink!" the redhead responded, bending down to open the small closet under the teacher's desk.

"Why are you even so desperate to find a love potion?" he growled after several minutes, pretty done with this bothersome adventure.

"To seduce Romilda Vane, obviously!" was the almost indignant answer.

"Yeah, but... that wouldn't be nice, you know? If you like her, just ask her on a date," Taiga hummed, opening another closet.

"I don't want to go on dates, that's too exhausting!" Daiki replied.

"So you only want to sleep with her?" The redhead turned his head towards him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well..."

"Wait, is it even possible to sleep with someone at Hogwarts?" he then wanted to know.

"... Maybe I can lock the room of our sleeping dorm..." Daiki said slowly, sounding unsure. Taiga snorted.

"Pfff, yeah right. Have you ever even slept with someone before, Daiki?" An evil grin crept on the redhead's face and Daiki blushed.

"W-what the heck?? Of course I have!!" he shouted, hoping that Taiga would buy that lie. Said one just chuckled.

"Alright, if you're that experienced, you don't need a love potion to get her in bed."

"You... Oh, shut up and keep searching, idiot," Daiki growled, showing him his back.

"Daiki?" Taiga asked after another two minutes.

"What?!" was the harsh response.

"Why haven't we used _Accio_ _,_ yet?"

"..."

"..."

"Holy freaking shit!! By Merlin's brimming boxers!! Why the fuck are we so stupid?!" Daiki shouted out loudly.

"Well, I'm not as dumb as you since I had the idea first," Taiga claimed proudly.

"No shit, Accio love potion!!" he raised his wand. Exactly two seconds later they heard a low rumble inside one of the shelves and a small, pink bottle suddenly flew right into Daiki's outstretched hands.

"It even worked!!" he stated a little unbelieving, before placing it in the wide pocket of his cape.

"Great, now let's get away quickly before..."  
Daiki stared at Taiga a little dumbfounded when the two suddenly heard fast steps approaching the room.

"Shit!" Daiki hissed, searching with his eyes for a place to hide in and found a small closet where he'd fit in.

"Colloportus," Taiga mumbled quietly to lock the door again, before joining Daiki in the cabinet.

"What the hell are you doing?! Get your own hideout!!" the latter one whispered aghast, pushing the redhead away who was struggling to get inside the way too narrow closet.

"Let me the fuck in, stupid! If they find me, they'll get you too! Now move your goddamn ass!!" Taiga replied, getting inside next to Daiki forcefully, managing to close the door just in the right moment before they heard someone entering the room. That was Daiki's worst moment of the day. He was squeezed together by three sides of the cabinet, having to duck his head to prevent it from hitting the low ceiling. It was even worse with Taiga being pressed against his front, feeling his breath grazing Daiki's face, and probably the other way around. The fact that he uncomfortably sat on a book and that he was afraid the potion in his pocket would break, wasn't especially helping him in this situation. It was dark, too.

Trying to get in a better position, he accidently head-butted Taiga, causing both of them to curse silently, doing their best to stifle their noises when they heard the person from outside getting closer to them. The next second Daiki feared for his life when whoever came into this room really seemed to have the intention to open the closet.

"Severus!"   
A voice kept the person from revealing Daiki's and Taiga's hideout when the foot steps came to a halt and then approached the second person that had entered the room.

"What do you want, Horace?" a cold voice asked.  
Holy shit, so it really was Snape! We're dead if he finds us, Daiki thought in panic.

"About the thing Albus said earlier, we really shouldn't..."

"Close the door behind you before talking about a secret conversation," Snape grunted, Slughorn doing as he was told since Daiki heard the sound of a door locking itself.

"Now what's the matter?" Snape asked him again.

"I- I don't know someone else who I can talk to, but don't you also think we should interfere? I mean, it's dangerous like that. Albus trusts Karkaroff, I know, but it really shouldn't stay at Durmstrang!" Slughorn said.   
Durmstrang again? Daiki was wondering if this also had something to do with Taiga.

"Well, I'm also not completely agreeing with Albus, but we shouldn't rush anyything now. A war with Karkaroff is the last thing we need," Snape responded.

"But the Time-Turner is safer at Hogwarts! We really should take it from Karkaroff before _you-know-who_ gets it in his fingers! If that happens it's going to be the end for all of us!" Slughorn's voice almost sounded dramatically.

"I know. It's heard that the dark lord searches for it, and although Durmstrang has not as many magical barriers as Hogwarts, the castle itself is well hidden. Not even _you-know-who_ is able to make its location out that quickly."

"But what if Karkaroff helps him? You know as much as me that he was a death eater and also is corruptible!"

"Albus trusts him. And you should do so to. We can't just take the time turner from Karkaroff, and also, the only information we have is that the Time-Turner is at Durmstrang. It's possible that even Karkaroff doesn't know where it is," Snape replied.

"Yeah, maybe you're right..." Slughorn muttered convinced.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Just think about something like this first and it would be smarter to have other concerns right now, like Mr Kagami for example. All of his relatives are, or were, death eaters after all, he might be a spy. Also, the boy is a general problem due to other circumstances," Snape only remarked before leaving the room.

When the door closed again, Slughorn sighed loudly. Meanwhile, Daiki really was about to just exit the cabinet and sprint out of the classroom because the two already had problems breathing. With Taiga's chest connected to his, he could feel his heart beating. Both their hearts were thumping wildly, but the redhead's was even faster than his own. His breathing also sped up with every minute remaining in that position with Daiki.

Daiki heard Slughorn humming a small melody, before disappearing through the backdoor of the classroom. Not a second later, he opened the door of the cabinet frantically, getting out of it if his life depended on it. Both of them coughed a few times before standing up again.

Suddenly the classroom's backdoor opened again and Slughorn came back, his eyes widening when he spotted the two students in front of the opened closet.

"But Daiki, and Mr Kagami, too! What are you doing here? You two just haven't had a make out session inside my favorite furniture!?"

"W-what?!" Daiki yelled, a shocked expression crossing his face and Taiga just stared at the professor like he was a Troll.

"Well, what else should I assume when you come out of my cabinet with breathing problems?" he questioned and Daiki couldn't make out if he was angry or amused. Probably both.

"And I guess you overheard the conversation between Severus and me?" he added.

"Uhm..." Taiga cleared his throat.

"Yeah, we're sorry, we were here first, though, because..."

"Because Taiga forgot to buy his Potions book, so we got here to see if there was an old one left!" Daiki quickly finished the sentence, suddenly taking out the book he'd sat on when he'd been hiding in the closet. Luckily it really was a Potions book for their class.

"Yes, that's right!" Taiga agreed, putting on his heartwarming smile.

"Seriously? But you could've just gone to my office then, I can always lend you books, Mr Kagami," Slughorn said surprised.

"Well... We haven't considered that, so..." Taiga's voice trailed off.

"It's alright. Now you know better for the next time. But I want you to keep the conversation from earlier a secret, got it?" He tried to look at them sternly, but he looked more irritated than serious.

"Sure, but... Can we ask you something about the Time-Turner since we heard everything, sir?" Daiki asked him hesitantly.

"Hmm, I'm not allowed to talk about it, but you're the one _you-know-who_ wants to get rid off, means you're also involved, so I guess I can make an exception for you, Daiki. I think Mr Kagami can stay, too," the professor responded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Thank you, sir," Kagami said and Slughorn nodded.

"Let's see... the Time-Turner. It's just a rumor to be honest, some may claim it's not even existing. But _you-know-who_ sees it as a chance. A chance to turn everything back. To kill you, Daiki, and to rule over the wizarding world, oppressing the Muggles."

"But why this Time-Turner? There are more than one, Satsuki even had one in our third year," Daiki said confused. Slughorn laughed sadly.

"The Time-Turners we know are nothing compared to the one at Durmstrang. It's difficult to turn back that much time with a small Time-Turner Ms Momoi had. The second problem is that you see yourself twice which comes along with the risk that _you-know-who_ will accidently kill his future self because of the shock.

Now consider having a Time-Turner that not just turns the time back, but also makes everything that happened until now undone. Just imagine what might you have, all the wisdom of knowing what is going to happen and how you can change it. And that's exactly what the Time-Turner in Durmstrang is able to do. Terrifying, right?" He ended his explanation with a frown, his gaze wandering up to Daiki's lightning scar.

"And why don't we take it to Hogwarts where it would be safer?" Taiga asked.

"Well, you heard Severus. Albus trusts Karkaroff that he will protect the Time-Turner from _you-know-who._ "

"How can he trust Karkaroff!?" Daiki muttered unbelieving.

"I'm asking that myself, but Albus somehow trusts everyone, right?"

"Right, thanks for telling us this, professor," Taiga thanked him, tugging on Daiki's sleeve as a signal to leave now.

"No problem. Have a good Sunday evening and... Ah, wait, I almost forgot. I'm throwing a party Wednesday evening. You two are invited. Tell Ms Momoi she can come too!" Slughorn suddenly informed them.

"Uh... Sounds nice. We're looking forward to it," Daiki responded, hand already placed on the door handle.

"Your my special guest, Daiki," the professor winked.

"Wow, never been invited to a party before," Taiga admitted when they were making their way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Maybe because no one wanted a Troll like you destroying it?" Daiki smirked.

"Hey!! You're one to talk!"

"At least I'm famous!"

"Fine, but I'm infamous," Taiga countered.

"In contrary to famous it's a bad thing to be _in_ famous when you're getting that reputation by cutting off a Boggart's arms and legs!" Daiki reminded him of said fact.

"Heck, I was scared, okay?" The two didn't notice they were close to shouting again.

"Pfff, right, whatever..."

"And also, it was pretty mean of you to say it was me who forgot to buy the Potions book!" Taiga suddenly changed the theme.

"Tch, it just came out of my mouth. It's not my fault you look like someone who forgets buying their whole shit for the next school year," he defended himself.

"What was that, you prick?!"

"Whoa, calm down, Tiger. Here, take your book," Daiki teased him, giving him the pretty old looking Potions book.

"How can you call this a book, it looks like it's going to be dust in seconds," Taiga commented, glaring at said object.

"Haha, you're right, look, there are even notes inside it. Gotta be a little nerd since they corrected the instructions on almost every page!" Daiki laughed, searching after a name. He then snorted as soon as he found it.

"The Half-Blood Prince?! Who the hell is that supposed to be?"

"A prince and a half-blood at the same time..." Taiga said, making a serious face.

"Wow, what amazing deducing skills!" Daiki remarked sarcastically.

"You're not better than me!"

"Whatever, I'm keeping the book. Maybe it'll become handy one time." He pocketed the book, not without feeling his cape slowly getting heavier with the love potion also adding to the weight.

"If you think so. Let's just do some research with Satsuki and Tetsuya about the Time-Turner," Taiga suggested.

"Right. Why not. Can't wait to see what that snaky asshole is going to do next..."


	7. How to look into the future

When neither Tetsuya nor Satsuki were in the common room, Daiki and Taiga decided (reluctantly) to finish their remaining homeworks. At least they managed to make progress as long as enough snacks were within their reach.   
Finally their two friends were returning and of course Daiki first told them about what happened in the dungeons. For his own safety, he avoided telling Satsuki that they went there because of the love potion...

"What?! So Voldemort tries to kill Daiki with a Timer-Turner this year?" Satsuki asked.

"Seems like it," he responded.

"Have you heard about the Time-Turner at Durmstrang before, Taiga?" Tetsuya directed his gaze at the redhead.

"Well... I may have, but I don't really remember... It's like with Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem. No one knows where it is and if it even exists, like professor Slughorn said," he answered.

"I understand... But maybe we can look it up in the library! I'm sure there's a book about this Time-Turner!" Satsuki recommended, causing Daiki to shake his head.

"You can't always get the solution from books!" he replied.

"But it works more often than your method to just throw yourself into a battle."

"Whatever, search in the library if it's fun for you, I definitely won't hang out there for a whole day," Daiki scoffed.

"You'll soon see that you'd be completely lost without me, Dai-chan!" she challenged him.

"I think we should head down to eat dinner and then go to bed, we have lessons tomorrow," Satsuki then continued, effectively ending their little fight.

* * *

 

"Hey, how's your back, Taiga?" Furihata asked him when he joined them going back to their sleeping dorms.

"It's alright, Madam Pomfrey is really amazing," the redhead responded.

"She is, right??" The Chihuahua grinned, then suddenly yawned.

"I think I'm going to bed earlier, the quidditch match was super exhausting!"

"Well, do what you want," Daiki just commented as the three entered their sleeping dorm.

Furihata hadn't been lying about being tired, he was sleeping like a stone the moment he came in contact with his pillow, his Puffapod standing on his nightstand like a trophy. Kuroko, Fukuda and Wakamatsu who also shared their dorm with them were still down in the Great Hall, so Daiki and Taiga were alone for the moment.

"Let's just take this opportunity to treat your back," Daiki sighed, snatching the salve that had been laying on Taiga's bed. The latter one already got rid of his cape and shirt. A scowl showed on Daiki's face when he inspected the other's muscled back. His shoulders sure weren't as wide as the redhead's.

"What the hell, why do we even need this ointment, the bruise is completely gone," he muttered in annoyance and pinched the spot on Taiga's back where the injury had been.

"Ow!"

"Okay, okay, here you go." Daiki reluctantly opened the tube, slapping the content a little too roughly on the redhead's skin.

"Don't be so rude!" Taiga groaned.

"Stop complaining, I can also leave you alone with this," he grumbled, not even trying to be more gentle.

"And here I thought we were friends," Taiga managed to let out a fake whimper.

"Ugh, you sound like Kise..." Daiki added more salve on his back, rubbing it all over the place. He just noticed then that Taiga's body was really warm, he wasn't sweating, but his skin emitted heat in a pleasant way.

"A massage would be nice, you know?" the redhead chuckled and Daiki felt the the flex of his muscles when Taiga leaned back to have a look at him.

"Forget it, I'm feeling gay enough already!" he denied, causing the other to furrow his brows.

"Since when are massages gay? You're just unsure about your sexual orientation, that's everything."

"I'm not!" Daiki blurted.

"Shhh, you're going to wake up Kouki," Taiga warned him.

"I don't care. Since when do you call him by his first name? We're done here by the way," he grumbled and gave the other's strong back one last pat.

"Thanks."

"Whatever, good night," Daiki huffed, turning around to change into his pyjamas.

* * *

 

"You don't know how much I hate Mondays," were the first words leaving Daiki's mouth the next morning.

"Who're you telling this," Taiga responded tiredly, his face close to hitting his bowl of cereal on the table.

"It's even worse this year since our first lesson is History of Magic with professor Binns," Tetsuya threw in and Daiki propped his head down on his plate.

"I don't want to live anymore," he rasped.

"What's even the sense of this subject?!" Taiga groaned.

Seeing professor Binns on a Monday morning was even worse than the friends expected. After overcoming the shock that the History of Magic teacher was a ghost, Taiga dozed off somewhere in the middle during a lecture about the Troll war. His head slumped down, landing on Daiki's shoulder. The latter smirked, leaned back, causing Taiga's head to slide down and hit the desk's surface.

"What the fuck?!" he yelled loudly at the heavy impact, wide awake again and rubbing his his hurting forehead. Professor Binns turned around from the blackboard, his usual neutral expression replaced with a deep frown.

"You're getting detention for shouting and sleeping during my lesson, Mr Kagami!" he growled and since he was transparent, the things he wrote on the blackboard were shining through him. For a moment it looked like he had a mono brow and Daiki had to laugh so hard, he got detention too.

Of course it wasn't Daiki's intention to write an essay for professor Binns, he used the time sitting in the classroom preparing chocolates filled with love potion. Since their teacher had refused to let Taiga and Daiki doing their exercises in one room (he probably knew they'd just end up burning the curtains or something similar...), he was completely alone at the moment. It was a little risky, though, because professor Binns was a ghost that could just hover through the wall to have a look at what the two were doing.

Daiki quickly let the chocolates slip unter the table when the teacher returned (through the wall, the blackboard to be precise).

"Have you finished yet, Mr Aomine?" he asked slightly annoyed.

"Uh... yes, I have," he lied, laying a few empty sheets of paper on the table and darting out of the room before the professor could throw an eye on them. At least he wasn't able to stop Daiki since he was a ghost and the only thing he could do was flying through him (though it wasn't a nice feeling, it felt like taking an unwanted cold shower).

Now Daiki just had to give the chocolates to Romilda Vane during lunch time, when most of the Gryffindors were eating in the Great Hall.   
On his way down he met Satsuki and Tetsuya who were so kind to wait for him, and probably Taiga, but said one was still captured by professor Binns.

"Oh, Dai-chan, those chocolates aren't possibly for me?" Satsuki blinked at him with big eyes.

"No, they're not. I'm gonna give them to Romilda," Daiki replied gruffly.

"Ah, so you want to ask her on a date by giving her a present?" she smiled.

"Well..."   
Satsuki would confiscate the sweets if she knew Daiki had mixed them with the love potion.

"Dai-chan, I'm so happy for you! You're making great progress. I wish you good luck!!"

"Thanks," he cleared his throat. Suddenly the three heard fast steps approaching them.

"Waiiit..." someone panted and Daiki turned around, grinning.

"Heh, did you finally manage to escape too?"  
Taiga scowled at him.

"You fucking idiot! That bloody ghost blamed me for your flight!!"

"Awww, I'm sooo sorry," Daiki snorted sarcastically.

"I hate you."

"I know, come on, I'm hungry."

Like most of the times, the four got places next to each other at the long Gryffindor table. Daiki sneaked one or two glances at his victim, Romilda Vane, who was unfortunately sitting out of his reach with her giggling friends. He noticed that she was looking over to him, smiling shyly while chatting with the girls next to her.  
Daiki blushed. Maybe Taiga was right and he didn't even need a love potion to seduce her. He _was_ the great Daiki Aomine after all, which girl would reject him with that?  
Wait a second...

He suddenly realized that Romilda wasn't looking at him, but at Taiga instead. When he concentrated on what she and her friends were talking about, he could hear the words _wonderful smile_ and _cute looking eyebrows._  
Daiki quickly turned around to Taiga who held an animated conversation with Tetsuya about quidditch in the nineties, smiling all the way. A slight glare formed on Daiki's face as he looked over to Romilda again. That just couldn't be possible.

He was way better than Taiga, he was smarter than him, famous (not _in_ famous...), good-looking, better in quidditch... Daiki could go on and on and had to disagree with Romilda that the redhead's brows looked cute, they were rather disturbing. The only thing where he was losing was indeed smiling. Taiga's fucking amazing smile, that childish grin managed to warm everyones' hearts.

He grumbled silently, his pride was hurt at seeing that Taiga seemed more popular with girls than him. Well, it was only one girl, but Daiki always liked to exaggerate, _he_ wanted Romilda after all. And he'd kill Taiga if he dared to steal her away from him!  
Getting his mind together, he grew the balls to stand up and walk over to her, hiding the chocolates behind his back.

"Uhm.." he said when the giggling girls stopped talking and looked at him surprised.

"H-hey Romilda, uh... Th-those are for you!!" Before she could react, Daiki quickly shoved the chocolates into her hands, rushing back to his place not a second later.  
God, he was such a virgin!  
Back on his seat, he nervously picked at his finger nails, blood rushing to his head and he didn't dare turning around, afraid that Romilda would laugh at him. Instead he opted for looking at his friends, Taiga and Tetsuya didn't seem like they'd noticed what just happened, too absorbed in their talk. Only Satsuki grinned at him, he knew she wanted to motivate him and Daiki suddenly felt bad because he didn't gave Romilda the sweets to go on dates with her like Satsuki thought. One glance back at the girl he gave the chocolates to, he noticed that Romilda smiled at him a little, though it looked hella forced.   
Crap, now he could only hope she was at least going to eat the chocolates.

"What's next?" Taiga asked when the four were done eating and heading to their next lesson.

"Divination," Tetsuya responded, not looking surprised when Satsuki rolled her eyes next to them.

"Well, I wish you much fun with that mischief. I'm happy I have Advanced Arithmancy class now," she told them, contempt in her voice clearly assuring that she had something against Divination.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Taiga looked at her irritated.

"Nothing," Daiki's comment was drowned out when Satsuki suddenly began complaining loudly.

"Well, everything! You don't learn a thing, it's a waste of time! Also, professor Trelawny is completely incompetent, trying to make everyone believe she's a real Seer. But her lessons aren't even making sense at all! Divination shouldn't be taught at Hogwarts, it doesn't rely on facts and is more like a stupid hobby that's..."

"Okay, okay, we got it, Satsuki! Jeez..." Daiki sighed, massaging his temples.

"Sorry, just wanted to tell Taiga he can join me in Advanced Arithmancy whenever he wants," she grinned and Taiga paled when just hearing the name of the subject.

"Yeah, right, I'll rather eat my broomstick before that happens," Daiki retorted.

"Whatever, see you later," the girl waved at them, leaving the three alone when turning into another corridor.

"Don't believe her," Daiki said when Taiga still looked a little bewildered.

"Divination is super easy to be honest. To get good grades, you only have to tell her how bad your future's gonna be. The best way is to just say you'll drown eight times a year, get at least killed twice while playing Gobstone with your best friend and of course to be eaten by werewolves. Remember, the bloodier, the better!" He raised his finger to clarify his words.

"What the heck..." Taiga just mumbled and Tetsuya chuckled in the background, startling the other two because they forgot again he was there.

The three followed the long way through the corridors to the ladder that led them up to the Divination classroom. A long queue was already in front of it since not everyone was fast to climb up.  
Once they were inside the small foggy room, they let themselves sink into the cozy armchairs that were placed around circular tables with crystal balls on top of it.  
Daiki made a face when smelling the strong perfume hanging in the air, heavily like always. To his displeasure, Takao and Midorima were sitting down next to them, too, because there only were four crystal balls for the whole class.

"Ah, welcome, welcome, my dear students. Wait a second..." Professor Trelawny entered the room through the backdoor, hurrying over to the class and stroking her tangled hair out of her face, revealing her big round glasses. Daiki always thought she looked like an oversized bat with those.

Professor Trelawny looked around to see if everyone was there. The chairs around the crystal ball on the other end of the room were occupied by Murasakibara, Kise and a few of the latter one's fan girls, while the circle between Daiki and the noisy Hufflepuffs consisted of Akashi, Himuro and Haizaki, completed by another bunch of Slytherins. If Divination hadn't been the easiest subject at Hogwarts, he would have selected something boring as Ghoul Studies instead, just to not meet certain people.

"Uhm, so it's nice to see you all and I'm happy you've picked Divination again for this year because I have no doubts that everyone of you will be a great Seer one day."   
She suddenly furrowed her eyebrows as if she'd eaten something strange.

"Ohh, oh no! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mr Kise!" Professor Trelawny hushed over to the startled barbie.

"Unfortunately that doesn't include you. I'm very sorry, my dear!" She grabbed his hands while Kise looked a bit overwhelmed, trying to back off.

"I'm seeing something... Something dark is approaching you!" The professor closed her eyes for a moment just to open them a second later again, shrieking loudly and making almost everyone in the room jumping up to the ceiling.

"Oh, Mr Kise... You're gonna die young. I can see it... I see how you're dying from blood loss... Blood everywhere!! A dark creature is approaching you with sinister intentions... It's coming closer!!" She let out another shriek (which had the same effect as before...) and Daiki was sure that Kise was going to die right here if professor Trelawny kept telling him about his brutal future death. He already was as pale as a ghost...  
But before she could continue, a tiny voice interrupted her.

"Uhm... Professor?"

The oversized bat turned around to see a trembling Furihata standing behind her.

"Oh! Why haven't you sat down, yet?" she just asked, pointing at two free armchairs. One at Akashi's table and one at Daiki's. When Furihata noticed Taiga giving him subtle signs to sit down next to him, an expressive voice interrupted his actions.

"I think Kouki can sit with us, right?" Akashi smiled.

"B-but I..."

"You _will_ sit with us." He was looking him straight in the eyes, his gaze not allowing refusal.

"A-alright..." Furihata stammered scared, stumbling over to his table and hesitantly sitting down. Daiki cocked an eyebrow, not understanding the purpose of why the mighty midget wanted the Chihuahua to sit down next to him. But he knew if the Slytherins' only intention was to bully him, he was sure Taiga would give them a piece of his mind since he felt a raging aura behind him.

"Now that you're all ready to open your inner eye, please have a look at the magical artefact in front of you. Who can tell me what that is?" Professor Trelawny asked.

"Uh, a crystal ball..." a student stated the obvious.

"Correct! Since we're that many, six of you have to share one of those mystical objects. Now I want you to have a look at it, everyone will see something different! I'm walking around meanwhile and see what you can tell me about your future.

The next moment, it got louder in the classroom, everyone bragging about what they could see or mostly not see, at least in Daiki's case. He had problems to not close his eyes and doze off because of the classroom's bad air condition. The perfume made everything worse. Only Takao's cackling next to him kept him awake.

"Seriously, Shin-chan?! You're seeing your future Christmas presents??" he snorted unbelievingly. Midorima pushed up his glasses, his expression undefined.

"You'll gift me a carrot pillow..." he mumbled lowly, causing his friend to laugh even harder.

"Amazing!! Now that you said it, I'll definitely do so!"  
Daiki looked at the two annoyed. Nothing new that Divination was Midorima's best subject, since he was a star sign freak and a big fan of professor Trelawny, in contrary to everyone else, he took the subject very serious. The green haired Ravenclaw was a completely different person when the topic of one lesson was about Jupiter's monthly position and how it influenced the Mars. Daiki didn't need any efforts to remember how weird his own results had been...

"I'm seeing nothing than smoke," Taiga complained, giving up in spotting something inside the stupid ball.

"Remember to always open your inner eye..." Professor Trelawny reminded them while having a look at each student. She then stopped at Daiki's group.

"Great as always, Mr Midorima, ten points for Ravenclaw. Your talent has no limits," she complimented Midorima, then skipped to Daiki.

"Oh, Mr Aomine... It's always you. I'm feeling so bad for your poor soul that is going to leave this world soon," she sighed sadly, her eyes looking a little watery. Daiki rolled his eyes at that. He was used to professor Trelawny almost breaking out into tears when only seeing him.

"But well... Tell me what you see." She reassuringly stroked his back, making Daiki wanting to be on another planet right now, but despite the awkward gesture he stared into the crystal ball. Of course there was nothing.

"What can you see...?"   
Fog.

"Uh... I'm gonna die..." That always was a good start.

"Soon," he added and professor Trelawny nodded eagerly.

"Good, Mr Aomine, very good!" she praised him while Daiki was thinking about what he could tell her about the circumstances of his death. It should be as fancy as possible.

"Well, uh... I guess it's gotta be bloody," he just said after clearing his throat.

"Not bad, not bad. You forgot your broken bones, though. But aside from that, it was a correct prediction. Five points for Gryffindor," she clapped her hands before scurrying over to Tetsuya. Daiki had problems suppressing his laughter. Divination just _was_ the easiest subject at Hogwarts.

"Alas, Mr Kuroko. I can see it in your face that you know what will happen to you soon," professor Trelawny continued with Tetsuya who was staring at her with a blank face.

"Of course, professor. I see my head laying on the ground of the Great Lake." His monotone voice caused Daiki to let out a snort. Professor Trelawny hummed compassionately, satisfied with Tetsuya's response. She then moved to Taiga who looked a little nervous when she bent down next to him.

"Ah, uhm, I'm seeing-..."

"Wait, wait, wait, Mr Kagami!" she suddenly stopped him by raising her hand, her eyes closed.

"Could it perhaps be that you were born in a wild December night?" she whispered mysteriously.

"Huh? I was born in August..." the redhead replied hesitantly, causing the bat to let out a surprised "oh!" and then shrugging it off.

"Tell me what you see then," she commanded, staring next to Taiga into the crystal ball. If he wasn't completely dumb, he'd just do it like Daiki and Tetsuya.

"So... I can see myself dying," he started, pretending to look concentrated.

"But Mr Kagami! What are you talking about?!" Professor Trelawny cut him off, much to everyone's surprise.

"A bright future is awaiting you!"

"Uhm, are you sure, professor...?" Taiga asked irritated. She reached out to pat his shoulder.

"Of course my dear, I-...!!"  
The second Trelawny touched him she let out a terrifying scream, backing off on an instant. She kept quivering when looking at the slightly shocked redhead, and Daiki wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke. But the bat never made jokes so she'd seen something crazy like she always did.

"Uh, profe-..."

"Out of the classroom!! Now!!" Her voice was unusually high when she pointed at Taiga with a shaking finger.

"B-but..."

"Leave!!!" Daiki feared for a moment that she'd turn into a Banshee.  
And like that everyone had to watch how a very confused and scared redhead slowly walked backwards out of the door.

The students began mumbling after the door closed behind Taiga, no one knew what he'd done wrong or what professor Trelawny saw. Said one tried to calm her breathing, stroking her hair back once again and blinking a few times.

"Heh, your friend is a real freak, Aomine. Even worse than you," Haizaki sneered from the Slytherin table (with a poor Chihuahua sitting between them). Daiki scowled at him, about to throw back a nasty remark, but someone beat him to it.

"D-don't insult Taiga! He's nice and a good friend...!!" Furihata stammered, earning laughter from Haizaki and his comrades.

"Watch out with who you're hanging out, rat," Haizaki scoffed.

"Shougou!" Akashi quickly silenced him with one of his creepy stares.

"Please calm down, dear students. I'm sorry for this incident, let's continue. Open your inner eye again and concentrate on the crystal ball," professor Trelawny finally interrupted them, seeming to have gotten her mind back together.  
That didn't prevent the students from chattering, though. Was Taiga waiting now outside the door? Would professor Trelawny let him in again and explain the situation?

Daiki wasn't able to concentrate on this stupid task anymore. Snape had called Taiga a possible spy during his conversation with Slughorn. He trusted the redhead, but that thought kept crossing his mind.   
What if...?  
He shook his head. No, Trelawny just had had one of her weird dramatic seizures.

When the lesson was finally over and everyone tried climbing down the ladder as fast as possible, Taiga stood right next to it, smiling shyly at Daiki and Tetsuya.

"Don't worry, man, it's professor Trelawny, things like that happen all the time," Daiki patted his shoulder after jumping down. He got a wary look from Tetsuya, his eyes telling him that things like that did _not_ happen the whole time, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Alright... Guess I can just forget this then...?" Taiga muttered, still a little confused.

"Yeah. By the way, what have you done in the mean time? I mean, you didn't stand here for almost an hour, did you?" Daiki then asked, his gaze flicking down to something red covering Taiga's wrist.

"Well, I-..."

"Dude, you're bleeding!" he shouted, pointing at the wound.

"Huh?" Taiga raised his hand to have a look at it. His eyes widened for a short moment.

"What have you done this time, Taiga? Just tell us," Tetsuya sighed.

"It wasn't my fault..." the redhead sulked.

"I just... I just had the pleasure to meet a Cornish Pixie."

"Holy crap..." Daiki stated, still remembering the ugly little creatures flying around in the classroom in his second year with Gilderoy Lockhart as a professor...

"So it attacked you?!"

"Yeah, it did, like you can see. Haven't noticed the bleeding, though," Taiga confirmed, shortly glancing at the blood on his wrist again before hiding it inside his sleeve.

"Whatever, I reckon it was more exciting than the rest of this 'open your inner eye' shit." Daiki mimicked Trelawny's voice for the last part.

"You won't believe me, the Pixie tried stealing my wand!"

"We do believe you, Daiki and I know Pixies too well for our own good," Tetsuya replied, also not able to ever forget the disaster Lockhart had caused. The three began walking down the corridor, having promised Satsuki to meet her in the Great Hall after Divination.

"What did you do with the Pixie?" Daiki asked.

"Ha, threw that thing out of the window," the redhead huffed in response.

"Well, that's also a solution..." Tetsuya commented.

"Why did you meet it, though? I've never seen a Pixie in a long time," Daiki questioned.

"I was just strolling around in Hogwarts. My original goal was to improve my sense of orientation, but that's seriously impossible inside a castle like this. The ways in Durmstrang weren't as hard to remember..." the redhead sighed.

"Maybe you'll get used to it," Daiki shrugged.

"You'd be as lost as me if it wasn't for that awesome Hogwarts map," Taiga replied.

"No way, that's not true! Hogwarts is my second home! No, even that's wrong, it _is_ my home!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Alright, alright, I got it," Taiga raised his hands defensively.

"You two are like little children," Tetsuya stated with his monotone voice, ending the conversation effectively by scaring his two friends to death with his "sudden" appearance.

* * *

 

"You really took your time, guys," Satsuki stated bored when they finally arrived at the Great Hall after Taiga had gone to the bathroom and washed the blood off his wrist. They sat down on the places she had saved for them. Daiki rolled his eyes.

"You know that Kise and Murasakibara aren't the fastest when it comes to climbing down that old ladder!" he said.

"What? Murasakibara doesn't even have to use the ladder to get down," Taiga laughed, almost spitting out the toast he was munching on.

"Don't talk while eating and why the hell _are_ you eating again, we just had lunch!!" Daiki uttered unbelieving.

"Well, it was on the table so of course I ate it," the redhead explained with an innocent look. That just earned him a loud sigh from the other three.

"Alright, let's talk about something else!" Satsuki cleared her throat.

"I was in the library and-..."

"Nooo...!"

"Oh, shut up, Dai-chan, it's exciting news I have here! So I went there and found this book," she slammed said object on the table to clarify her words.

"History of Durmstrang...?" Taiga read with a frown.

"Yup. And guess what, the author wrote something about the Time-Turner! Sadly, they didn't believe in the existence of it, so there's nothing we already know, except the fact that's a really dangerous object."

"Why did you even bring that damn book here when there's nothing new?!" Daiki groaned, but Satsuki ignored him.

"The author also mentioned rumours about the Time-Turner being protected by an unknown creature that will attack anyone who dares approaching it," she continued.

"Would be nice if it could shred Voldemort for us," Taiga hummed, earning an annoyed look from Satsuki.

"The problem is we don't know if it's existing. We can't rely on rumours," Tetsuya threw in thoughtfully.

"You're right, that's why I brought another book!" Satsuki agreed, taking out the next one and putting on top of the other.

" _Forgotten magical artefacts of the wizarding world_? That sounds hella boring!" Daiki complained, leaning back in his chair.

"At least we have a picture in this one." Satsuki opened the book, searching for the right page. She hold it in front of Daiki's nose when she found it.

"Uh, looks exactly like the Time-Turner McGonagall gave you," he stated.

"No, Dai-chan, it does not!" Satsuki replied, showing the others the picture.

"Well, there are some similarities, but it looks way more... complicated, I guess. At least I wouldn't know how to use it," Tetsuya said, inspecting the image.

"I didn't even know what the purpose of a Time-Turner is before you guys were talking about it," Taiga admitted.

"Are you stupid?? It's said in the name, it _turns_ back the _time_!!" Daiki slapped him lightly on the back of his head.

"Ow! It's your fault if I'm even more stupid now since you just destroyed my brain cells!" he complained.

"Hah?! Those were dead before!"

"Guys, please behave only once!" Satsuki stroked through her hair, sighing stressed, before continuing.

"I'll have another look in the library to read more about it." She looked at them serious.

"When Voldemort really wants to have that Time-Turner, we gotta be faster than him!"

"You mean we're going to Durmstrang and trying to get it?!" Daiki asked surprised.

"Shhh! Stop shouting everything! We have to do something, so that's the deal!" she informed them.

"But that's not a plan at all, we don't even know Durmstrang's location, or if there's really a Time-Turner that can make happened things undone," Tetsuya replied.

"Yeah, that's why I'm doing research in the library. Just wanted you to begin preparing for an upcoming adventure," she grinned, closed the book and stood up to head to her favorite place, leaving her three slightly confused friends behind.

* * *

 

Daiki couldn't sleep this night. Taiga was snoring loudly next to him and Fukuda mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep. He tried distracting himself with the Marauder's map, but no one did something interesting right now that was worth observing. Out of boredom, he had the funny thought to have a look at the Potions book he'd found in the dungeons. Daiki remembered that he'd put it under his bed and tried feeling it with his hands after sitting up. Once he got it, he used his wand to lighten it up, reading the inscription again.

_This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince._

Daiki shrugged. Maybe just a freak who forgot his book in the closet about thirty years ago. When he was scrolling through it, he noticed that there wasn't a single page without a note, saying that the recipe was wrong or should be done differently. Daiki even saw some spells scribbled down, ones he'd never heard of before. Especially one catched his eye:  
_Sectumsempra_ _: For enemies_

Couldn't hurt to memorize that, right? Maybe he could use it against Haizaki in the right situation. Smirking at that thought, he was finally falling asleep, dreaming about defeating that Slytherin ass in a duel.

Apparition was the first subject the next morning. The friends were excited because it was their first lesson, concerning said activity. Only Daiki had problems keeping his eyes open because of the few hours he got to sleep last night. That got him in an argument with Taiga the next morning during breakfast because he claimed that the redhead's snoring was the only thing that prevented him from sleeping for the whole time. In the end, Satsuki sealed their mouths again with a spell, making the two shut up.

Since they had Apparition with the seventh graders, they met their quidditch team, much to Taiga's and Tetsuya's pleasure (and to Daiki's displeasure). The lesson was taught on the school grounds because of the nice weather. All students had lined up in three rows, a small hoop laying in front of each.

"Welcome to the Apparition course, my name is Wilkie Twycross, and I am going to teach you how to apparate properly," a wizard Daiki had never seen before spoke up, and holy shit, he would've almost overlooked him with that transparent presence of said guy. It was a little bit like Tetsuya's misdirection. Professor Twycross indeed looked like a tiny wind gust could blow him away. Did wizards and witches become like that when they apparated too much?  
The weird Ministry guy cleared his throat to get everyone's attention since Daiki didn't seem to be the only one forgetting he was even there.

"Before we begin, I'd like to announce a few things. Though the Ministry of Magic decided a month ago that students in their sixth year are also allowed to take part in the course, I have to admit I'm not really fond of that. I just want to remember you that you're responsible for your own well-being." He looked at the crowd sternly and began walking amongst them.

"The most dangerous thing would be to splinch. All of you probably know what that means..."

"What does it mean??" Taiga whispered to Satsuki and Daiki was close to doing a facepalm.

"It means that-..."

"No talking there! Splinching is when for example only half of your body arrives at your destination. When you're unlucky, you'll die and muggles may stumble over your fingers laying in the middle of the street somewhere in Texas." Twycross looked completely unfazed despite his rather deterrent words.

"So, let me say it only once; Destination, Determination and Deliberation. Those are the three D's of Apparition one should always remember. Means you must be absolutely determined to reach your destination, and move without haze, but with deliberation."

Just a quick glance at Taiga told Daiki that he'd understood nothing. Well, he wasn't the only one...

"As you've already noticed, each of you has a hoop laying in front of them. I want you to apparate into it by focusing your mind on the hoop and then spin around with the intention to appear inside it!" Twycross clapped his hands twice, signaling them to start. Daiki grinned. Either this was going to be very funny or very ugly.


	8. The Emperor's Chihuahua

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Just wanted to say there isn't going to be an update next week because I'm participating in a basketball camp.   
> PS: I love all of your comments! They're highly appreciated!! ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ

"And I have paid twelve Galleons for this shit..." Daiki groaned after another ten minutes of just staring into his hoop without anything to happen.

"You're not alone with that."  
Taiga seemed to be as talented as him concerning Apparition, throwing some glares at professor Twycross who looked like he'd fallen asleep while standing.

"That asshole could at least show us how to do it," Daiki scoffed, kicking his hoop offended. When he looked around, he noticed that no one had managed to appear into their hoop, yet. Even the seventh graders struggled with the task.   
Somewhere in the middle Hyūga began shouting loudly because it obviously wasn't working, and Kiyoshi tried his best calming him down, but failing miserably. When Izuki interfered, it just made everything worse, since he stated that he'd use RAM instead of the three D's. ("You need lots of _Repetitions_ for succeeding in _Apparition_ to complete your _Mission!_ ")

At least professor Twycross confiscated his note book when he began scribbling said sentence down enthusiastically. The situation pretty escalated then, Kise getting hit by his idol Kasamatsu (a Ravenclaw in year seven), since he wouldn't stop crying about not being able to apparate. Daiki saw Miyaji glaring coldly at Taiga, also having to give up on trying appearing inside the hoop and letting out his hate for the redhead instead. Next to him were the seventh graders Koganei, Gryffindor, and Mitobe, Hufflepuff, who was silently watching how Koganei performed a little hula hoop show instead of concentrating on the exercise. Wakamatsu was insulting the ring in front of him loudly, earning a few annoyed looks, not only from Twycross.

"I hate it!! I fucking hate this!!!" he yelled, kicking the object like Daiki had done before. A small explosion interrupted his outburst, coming from Fukuda who had tried jinxing his hoop, accidently using _Bombarda_ _,_ causing it to explode and leave him in a cloud of smoke.

When Daiki looked to the other side, he saw Murasakibara munching on sweets like always, throwing the remnants inside the hoop, its purpose seeming to be a trash can, and a loud cackle from Takao confirmed that Midorima had just apparated his glasses into the hoop. Daiki clicked his tongue, gazing at his friends instead. Satsuki was super concentrated, her eyes closed as if she was meditating. Tetsuya only stared at his hoop blankly, looking like he had a mental conversation with it. And Taiga was observing the students like Daiki did.  
Both their heads turned around when they suddenly heard Akashi speaking up to a nervous Furihata.

"Kouki, you should go back to the castle," he said, his voice calm.

"H-huh...?" The Chihuahua began trembling when looking at Akashi who unfortunately had chosen a place next to him.

"You'll splinch if you don't watch out, and I don't want you to hurt yourself," said one explained, a serious expression covering his face.

"Ah...uhm, thanks...?"

Daiki scrunched his eyebrows. Akashi was always a little clueless when it came to expressing his emotions. And since when was he even interested in Furihata? But well, it was Akashi after all, who knew what he was up to...

"Oh, Tetsu look, there's Nigou!" Daiki suddenly noticed the snowy owl flying circles over their heads, carrying a letter. When Tetsuya raised his head, Nigou flew down, landing on his outstretched arm.  
The small wizard carefully took the letter out from the owl's beak, opening it.

"It's from Mom," he informed them as he read through it. Even Satsuki had stopped trying to concentrate on Apparition and turned towards him curiously.

"What's she saying?" she asked.

"She invited you and Daiki to come over for autumn holidays."  
Tetsuya then looked over to Taiga.

"I've told her about you before, so you can come too, if you want," he added, causing a smile to appear on Taiga's face.

"Of course! That would be amazing!"

Daiki was just about to say something, when he suddenly got hit in the side of his head by something that felt like a tennis ball.

"Ouch!! What the fuck?!"  
Quaffle fell into his hands, seeming a little disoriented because of the impact, shaking her little head violently. Daiki then saw a note being bound to her foot.

"Looks like you got post, too," Taiga laughed.

"Shut up, Quaffle's not as experienced as Nigou, yet," Daiki grumbled, his head still throbbing. He then unfolded the note and also started reading.

"Did you know the Order of the Phoenix has another meeting at your house, Tetsu? The note is from Lupin by the way, he wants us to participate."

"Is that so? When?" Tetsuya asked, petting Nigou's head.

"Uh, also autumn holidays," Daiki responded.

"Oh, what about Taiga then?" Satsuki bit her lip.

"Huh? What about me? What is the Order of the Phoenix?" the redhead blinked a few times.  
The three gave each other a look, and Tetsuya nodded, wanting Daiki to explain.

"Well, you know, it's a super secret organisation that fights against Voldemort and his network."

"Wow, that sounds cool! Can I join the Order of the Phoenix?" Taiga's eyes began sparkling. Satsuki furrowed her brows, thinking hardly about it.

"There's the problem, we can't decide that, and as long as you're not part of the organisation, we can't tell you about the things said there," she finally admitted.

"Oh, that's a pity..." Taiga sighed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Dumbledore inaugurates you too, some day. But it sure is a little complicated for all the members to trust you, especially when they find out your parents were death eaters," Daiki said, realizing his mistake too late and quickly covering his mouth.

"What?! They were death eaters??" Satsuki screeched.

"Shhhh! Not so loud!!" Taiga and Daiki shushed her, looking around nervously since a few students began looking over to them.

"But why haven't you told us before?" Tetsuya whispered.

"He's stupid and thought we wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore," Daiki answered, hitting Taiga on the head.

"Ow!" the latter one complained, glaring at Daiki.

"Okay, that was surprising, now it's going to be really hard to convince the others to let you join. They definitely won't trust you like that," Satsuki affirmed, her eyes wide.

"But... But you trust me, right?" Taiga looked at them a little hurt.

"Of course! Of course we do, man!" Daiki patted his back, a little taken aback at how insecure the redhead suddenly seemed.

"Yeah, the talking hat said it; You have a good heart and we know you want to help us defeat Voldemort," Satsuki added.

"Thanks," Taiga gifted them a small smile.

"What are you doing over there? Get back to working on your Apparition skills!" Twycross' senile voice interrupted them and Daiki rolled his eyes, wanting to say: "Just let us do as we please, we even paid for this, old man!"  
At least they hadn't been the only ones who were talking the whole time.

By the end of the lesson only Riko Aida from Ravenclaw managed to appear into her ring, but not without splinching and leaving a finger behind. The present professors quickly gathered around her, trying to fix the situation. When they got back to the Great Hall, Satsuki was still a little pissed off because she hadn't been able to apparate like Riko did. To Daiki it was nothing new that he often failed tasks and was just annoyed about the twelve Galleons he'd thrown out of the window. If the lesson next week wouldn't be better, he'd make sure to get his money back.

His mood improved very quickly when he saw the meal awaiting them for lunch.

"By Merlin's most baggy Y-fronts, it's Teriyaki Burgers!!" he exclaimed loudly, hushing over to the Gryffindor table.

"Terikaki what...?" Taiga followed him confused.

"It's pretty popular in the muggle world. So popular, that Dumbledore decided to try it too. Looks like it tastes not bad," Tetsuya explained to him and Taiga nodded.

" _It tastes not bad?!_ Tetsu!! That's a fucking underestimation! Teriyaki Burgers are the greatest thing the world has ever seen!!" Daiki yelled slightly offended, not caring about the other students giving him weird looks.

"Well, at least you're happy..."

"Hell right I am!!"

The four sat down, Daiki devouring one burger after another while Taiga opted for inspecting the unknown food first. He bit into his first one with a frown, but his face suddenly lit up after he swallowed.

"Amazing!!" he stated and the next second he was eating as much burgers as Daiki, leading them to a challenge who could eat more.

Someone in between, Daiki made a weird face, spitting out a crumpled note.

"Holy fuck, what the hell?! Why was there a note inside my burger?!" he exclaimed while unfolding it.

_"Dear Daiki Aomine, sir!_  
_Dobby made sure to cook Daiki Aomine's favorite food for today because Dobby wants him to be happy! Also, Dobby has heard some terrifying things about a new Hogwarts student! Dobby wants Daiki Aomine to take care of himself and of course Dobby will protect him, but if Dobby fails he has to iron his fingers!_  
_Enjoy Dobby's self-made burgers!"_ he read, not without stumbling over the many spelling and grammar mistakes.

"Wow, you better not die for Dobby's sake," Satsuki frowned.

"Yeah, seems like Taiga is a big talking point, though..." Daiki said, glancing at the redhead suspiciously.

"You know that he could've also meant Himuro," Tetsuya threw in.

"Right, as if that little worm would be worthy enough to talk about. But aside from that, how the hell did Dobby even know I was the one going to eat exactly _that_ burger?! I mean, how many burgers were made in the kitchens??"

"Well, House-elves..." Tetsuya shrugged.

"Oi, Daiki, you're losing," Taiga informed him, reminding him of their ongoing eating battle.

"Wait, that wasn't fair!" Daiki complained, beginning to stuff his mouth with burgers again.

"You two are such pigs," Satsuki turned her nose up in disgust, refusing to watch them any longer.

"Ha, I won again!"

"Shut up! Just because you're a black hole, Bakagami!"

"I'm not! That was a normal amount of food!"

"Are you kidding me?? It definitely was not!"

"It was!"

"Was not!"

"It fucking was!!"

"Not!!"

"..."

"Thank you for using that spell again, Satsuki," Tetsuya finally sighed after the girl had unsheathed her wand.

"No problem, wouldn't know what to do without it," she grinned, receiving glares from Taiga and Daiki who had their mouths sealed again.

* * *

 

In the evening, they had Astronomy. It wasn't Daiki's best subject, but also not his worst, so he was in a relatively good mood, still caused by the Teriyaki Burgers. Taiga, in contrary, seemed pretty down. He was complaining every minute how long the way to the astronomy tower was. Well, he could understand him; the astronomy tower was the highest place at Hogwarts and thousands of stairs could make one crazy after a short time.

Professor Sinistra welcomed her students with one of her happy smiles, letting them pair up and giving each pair a star map. And now all of them were sitting on top of the tower on the cold floor while scribbling something onto their maps. Since they had Astronomy with Hufflepuff, it was loud as usual. Not that Daiki would ever have prejudices against Hufflepuffs... (At least not like he did against Slytherin).

The sun hadn't completely vanished yet, so there only were a few stars to observe. Daiki noticed how Taiga shivered next to him when a cold breeze blew over their heads. He looked down on their map again, realizing it was still empty, in contrary to Satsuki's and Tetsuya's which was already filled with sketches and notes.   
He sighed loudly. It was always a bad idea to get into a team with Taiga because their combined stupidity wouldn't be able to change their grades. It was no wonder none of the two had understood the task, but both of them were too stubborn to ask someone. When Daiki took a closer look at his friends' map again, he decided that the exercise probably was to find out positions of the stars appearing first on the night sky... or something like that.

As soon as Daiki noticed Taiga slowly dozing off next to him, he stabbed him in the ribs, causing the other to fall to the side with a pained groan.

"The stars are so romantic! Don't you think so too, Aominecchi??" Daiki didn't need to turn around to recognize Kise's annoying voice behind him.

"Romantic, my ass," he grunted, trying to focus on the stars.

"So mean..." he heard the Barbie whimpering. Daiki sighed relieved when Kise seemed to be occupied by his fan girls again. He then turned to Taiga.

"Oi, you're not helping me one bit," he said gruffly, pinching Taiga's arm to see if the redhead was still awake. He'd curled himself up inside his cape, so it was a little difficult to see if he was sleeping or not.

"Mmhh, it's too cold," he was shaking a little due to the wind. Daiki groaned.

"Do I look like I care? Now take the quill and draw some stars or something!" He tossed said object at him.

"Fine..." the redhead grumbled, giving the map a confused look. Meanwhile, Daiki tried to concentrate on something else. He looked around searchingly, his goal was spotting Romilda Vane. A frown formed on his face when he couldn't find her.

"What are you doing?" Taiga mumbled, still facing the map when he noticed his friend glancing at the students almost frantically.

"I'm concerned about the effectiveness of my love potion plan," he admitted.

"Your _love potion plan?"_ Taiga snorted.

"Well, yeah, I'm just wondering why Romilda hasn't approached me yet," Daiki growled.

"She probably hasn't drunken the potion yet or it didn't work somehow. Are you sure you've given her the right dose?"

"Holy shit, dude, that just sounds like I've given her a drug!"

"You practically have!"

"Whatever..." Daiki sighed, giving up on searching her.

"Also, the potion was perfect! She should rip her clothes off as soon as she sees me!" he added.

"Woah, then it's a good thing she isn't here!" Taiga chuckled and unfortunately dodged Daiki's hit.

"Shut up! I'm wondering if you can still laugh when you see it's going to work!"

"Heh, is that so? Good luck then. Hope you'll get your sweet time with her," Taiga grinned.

"Ha, I don't need luck for that," Daiki bragged loudly, causing professor Sinistra to shush them. The two did their exercise again, at least tried to, before Taiga started distracting him again.

"Hey, now that you're talking about Romilda so much, I haven't seen her before, what does she even look like?" he whispered.

"Are you stupid?? How can you miss a beauty like that?! Also, she sits at the Gryffindor table every morning just a few seats away from us! You know it's her when you see her the first time!"

"Oh my God, hear yourself talking!" Taiga giggled, keeping it down because their teacher was looking at the two again.

"But seriously, just tell me what she looks like," he added and Daiki didn't need long to answer.

"She is beautiful, curly dark brown hair, cute freckles, amazing eyes, wonderful skin colour..."

"What the fuck, if I didn't know you only want her for her body I would've thought you were a total sap! Honestly, are you sure you don't want to date her??"

"Of course not, shithead, I haven't told you the best part, yet," Daiki growled.

"Yeah, gotta be the boobs, right?" Taiga guessed, rolling his eyes.

"Tch. What else should it have been? You know I like boobs! They look pretty soft and are filled with dreams! I'm sure they feel amazing when you touch them!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, alright, could we stop here?" Taiga interrupted him before Daiki could go on with his obsession about boobs.

But now that they'd talked about Romilda, he was unsure. What if she had thrown the chocolates away? What if the love potion was too weak or wasn't correctly brewed? Or hadn't she eaten the sweets, yet?   
He hoped it was the latter one. No one would ever throw chocolates away, even if they were gifted by Voldemort. By second thought, he'd think twice about eating chocolates from Voldemort.  
Daiki shook his head. Everything was going to be alright.

He stared at the night sky again, the sun was gone, and he began having problems to distinguish the infinitely number of stars and describe them on their still almost empty map. Daiki turned his head in bewilderment when he suddenly felt Taiga scooting closer to him. About to ask what was wrong, he noticed that the redhead's teeth were chattering and he was shivering even more than before.

"What's up, man, it's just a bit chilly. You're the only one freezing, you're not sick, are you?" Daiki questioned, distancing himself, not wanting Taiga to infect him with a cold.

"N-no, I'm not. I just don't like when it's _too_ chilly," he denied to Daiki's relief.

"Wow, Durmstrang has been the wrong place for you then."

"That's why I'm here now," Taiga chuckled, tightening the grip on his cape around him. Daiki narrowed his eyes, knowing it was not the only reason he'd changed to Hogwarts, but he kept quiet. He cocked an eyebrow when he noticed Taiga eyeing him, or rather his cape. The redhead blushed in embarrassment when he realized he was caught staring.  
Daiki huffed while taking the clothing off.

"Don't say anything," he warned while handing him the cape, watching how Taiga wrapped it around himself, rewarding him with a thankful look.  
Daiki realized it probably had been a mistake to do this when he heard Satsuki squealing next to them.

When classes were over, Daiki and Taiga got five points deduction because of their sloppy work, but it got balanced out by Satsuki's and Tetsuya's extremely precise map, getting them the five points back. Hufflepuff didn't get away as easily as them; They lost ten points because the only thing professor Sinistra found on Murasakibara's star map were chocolate frog crumbs.

"Uaah, it's so late already..." Taiga yawned when the four went down to the Gryffindor common room again. They were rather stumbling than walking, tired and yearning for their soft beds.

"I have to agree that it's a disadvantage of Astronomy," Satsuki murmured, hopping over the trick step reflexively, in contrary to Taiga whose face hit the floor when his foot  was suddenly stuck.

"Holy fucking shit! That's a fucking bad timing for something like this. Fucking stairs! It's always the fucking stairs!!" he yelled, pulling his foot out violently. At least everyone was too tired to lecture him about cursing.

"G'night," Daiki was able to grunt before parting ways with Satsuki and entering the boys' sleeping dorm. He then threw the cape Taiga had given him back on the floor, along with his other clothes before letting himself fall into his bed.

* * *

 

Daiki had a weird dream that night, and he wasn't even sure if it really was a dream, but rather a vision.   
It had been pretty bad in his fifth year, Voldemort completely invading his mind, letting him see things he was doing or thinking.   
He'd had a few months peace from that, though it wasn't entirely bad to see what Voldemort's intentions were.

And now that Daiki was awake again, he was sure that the dark lord was up to something, the vision still as clear as it had been when he was still asleep.   
He definitely had to tell his friends about it during breakfast at the Gryffindor table.

"What?? Dai-chan, you know you mustn't let him in!! Who knows what could happen to you! We have to inform Dumbledore!!" was the first thing he heard from Satsuki, interrupting him after he'd just mentioned Voldemort's name.

"Okay, okay, but let me recount it first!" Daiki replied, about to do so when Taiga decided to interfere too.

"Wait, a vision? Does that mean you're somehow connected to him and can see what he's doing and stuff??"  
Daiki nodded slightly annoyed.

"Woah, that's cool!!"

"No, it's not! It's super dangerous!" Satsuki hit him on the head.

"Ow!"

"Can I _please_ continue??" Daiki groaned.

"Now that you said please, we're all listening," Tetsuya stated blankly, resuming to eat his egg.

"Okay, so I haven't seen him in person, but I know where he is or rather where he wants to go!"

"Are you sure it was about Voldemort when you didn't see anyone?"

"I just know it, Satsuki! I've dreamed something weird before, and then the vision suddenly disrupted the dream. It felt so real, that's why I'm so sure of it!" Daiki explained.

"Tell us what exactly you saw then," Taiga said, stopping to devour his usual amount of toasts for a moment.

"There was a castle. Uhm, it looked a little like Hogwarts, except it was in the mountains. It wasn't very clear because of a strong blizzard, there was snow literally everywhere."

"Was there something else too, or only the castle?" Satsuki asked frowning.

"Just the castle and the mountains," he responded.

"No, wait, there'd been a lake too. It was mostly frozen, but I think it was even bigger than Hogwarts' Great Lake!" Daiki quickly added.

"Daiki, have you seen a ship on that lake??" Taiga suddenly threw in.  
Daiki furrowed his brows, thinking hardly about it; His vision had been short, only about three to five seconds or so. He then remembered, there had indeed been a ship.

"How did you know that...?" he slowly asked Taiga.

"It pretty sounds like Durmstrang, that's why," he answered, looking at the others.

"Of course!" Satsuki slapped her cheeks.

"Of course it's Durmstrang! A castle in the snow, the Time-Turner!! If Voldemort's really there already, we don't have that much time left!" she shouted, realizing her mistake too late when Furihata suddenly dropped his plate next to them, staring at her wide-eyed.

"W-what...?" he stuttered shocked. Daiki groaned, placing his hand against his forehead.

"Ah, you know Kouki..." Taiga's voice trailed off when Furihata cut him off.

"S-so for real?! _You-know-who_ wants to kill Daiki with the help of a Time-Turner??!" The Chihuahua began trembling and Daiki was afraid he'd collapse every second.

"Don't worry, Kouki, we won't let him do that," Tetsuya tried calming him down, but it seemed ineffective.

"No, no, no! We're done for good if that happens! We're all going to die!!" he shrieked and Satsuki fastly covered his mouth with her hand, preventing them from attracting even more attention.

"Everything's fine, Furi! We'll stop him, okay?" Satsuki gently shook him by the shoulders.

"C-can... Can I do something to help you?" Though his lips were quivering, he tried to look determined.

"No, just leave us alone with that," Daiki scowled at him, wanting Furihata to leave. Taiga kicked him under the table.

"He doesn't mean it like that, Kouki. Of course you can help us if you want," Taiga patted his back.

"Really?"

"Sure, you can come with me to the library and help me doing research about the Time-Turner and Durmstrang!" Satsuki suggested and Furihata nodded happily, though he still looked a little scared.

"I'll do everything you want me to!"

"Does that count for me, too?"  
Furihata dropped his plate a second time when Akashi suddenly stood behind him.

"What are you doing here, you're supposed to be at the Slytherin table," Daiki growled, but not daring to insult him.

"I can go wherever I want, Daiki. Also, I'm not deaf, I know you were talking about Voldemort. And now I'm wondering what Kouki has to do with that..." Akashi mused, a small smirk on his face.

"Why are you even that interested in Kouki? You've never even looked at him before Divination!" Taiga stood up from his place, staring down on Akashi angrily which was always a bad idea.

"I swear if you and your sadistic asshole friends are bullying him I'm gonna do some ugly things, got it?" he snarled.

"Oh? So you're threatening _me_ of all people? Ridiculous! You should watch out, though, I know _everything_ about your pathetic life, Taiga Kagami," Akashi countered, his voice stern as his gaze drilled through the redhead.  
Daiki knew exactly what had happened when Taiga suddenly sunk back on his chair in defeat. No one was able to stare into Akashi's eyes longer than a few seconds.

"Uhm... I-It's not even like that, Akashi is nice to me. He helped me when I got lost once," Furihata intervened, stepping in between the two.

"Is that so?" Daiki eyed Akashi suspiciously. The latter one was smiling again.

"But of course. All I want is to be friends with Kouki, I like the presence of sincere people," he answered and turned to Furihata again who somehow felt like he was at the wrong place.

"And since we're friends, you can call me Seijūrou."

"Yes! I'll do that!" Furihata flinched when Akashi talked to him. Daiki shook his head in confusion. It rather looked like he was his dog, but well, Akashi didn't have that many friends, so he probably didn't know what friendship meant, he just behaved like the rich child he was, unpredictable as always.

"But now, back to what's important. I know that the walls in Hogwarts have ears and most of the rumours are spread by Ryouta, but that Voldemort wants to have Durmstrang's Time-Turner is something new even for me," Akashi changed the topic. Great, now he was involved too.

"Does that mean you knew there's a hidden Time-Turner at Durmstrang?" Tetsuya asked him.

"Sure. But now that Voldemort's aiming for it, we got a big problem. Daiki's visions are rather helpful in that case, though we should avoid a situation like last year..."

"What situation?" Taiga questioned.

"Just forget it..." Daiki groaned, remembering their excursion with the Thestrals to the Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries.

"And let me guess; Your plan is to get the Time-Turner before Voldemort does," Akashi smirked.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?" Daiki growled. Akashi's smile widened.

"Not at all. I think it's a great idea. Difficult, but great. It would be best to inform the others."

"What?! No way! First, they're all useless, second, when Kise knows he'll tell the whole school about it and third, we can't prepare that many idiots for such a journey!" Daiki replied.

"We'll tell Kise the last, you can leave the rest to me." Akashi's voice assured that he didn't tolerate any form of opposition.

"Maybe it's better to involve Akashi," Satsuki looked at Daiki.

"Tch, if you think so..."

"Strategically it would be worth to include him. I don't know about the others, though," Tetsuya admitted.

"Then it's decided! You'll hear from me when I've developed such a _strategy._ See you in D.A.D.A., Kouki!" And as quickly as he'd approached them, Akashi walked back to the Slytherin table. Daiki could only hope he wasn't talking to Haizaki or Himuro about their plan. But he knew from own experience that Akashi was more than trustworthy, and although he seemed to be creepy most of the time, he was also able to care about certain people, especially the generation of miracles, and that made him reliable more than anyone else.

"I also promise to not tell anyone about it!" Furihata said before Daiki could think about something to threaten him if the Chihuahua would break his promise.

"Thanks Furi! Can we meet in the library after lunch?" Satsuki smiled at him.

"S-sure," Furihata blushed, he'd probably never talked to a girl before.

"But what about Voldemort now? If he's already at Durmstrang-..." Taiga got cut off by Daiki.

"He's not. He's just seeing Durmstrang, nothing more."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Dunno. Just have a feeling that he's as clueless as we are in how to get the damn Time-Turner," he grumbled, finishing his breakfast by gulping down the last rest of his pumpkin juice.

"By the way, Slughorn's party is tonight, right?" Taiga remembered.

"Ugh, right, I forgot," Daiki groaned, he wasn't a big fan of parties, especially when he seemed to be Slughorn's trophy.

"Ah, you're invited too, Satsuki," Taiga informed her and the girl began smiling widely.

"Really?! Oh, I love parties!! You have to help me decide which dress I should wear, it's gonna be so exciting!!" Her voice reached the frequency where Daiki had to cover his ears. They turned around to Tetsuya when they suddenly felt a gloomy aura emitting from him.

"I wasn't invited..." His eyes looked a little dull, like always when he was angry.

"Uh... I'm sure Slughorn isn't going to notice when you just come with us," Daiki suggested, only to earn a small glare from his friend.

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"

"..."

"Oh, but I heard from Kise that we're allowed to bring someone!" Taiga said, causing Daiki to sigh inwardly, and then groaning because he realized Kise was going to be there too.

"If that's the case, I'm taking you with me as my Date, Tetsuya!" Satsuki squealed, embracing the short wizard. Wether Tetsuya was about to deny or say thank you, Daiki would never find out since the only thing coming out of his mouth were a few coughs caused by one of Satsuki's deathly hugs.

* * *

 

"Daiki, my friend! Great to see you again!" Slughorn greeted the class (or rather Daiki) with his usually cheerful attitude when the students arrived at the dungeons for Potions.

"Today we're brewing a real love potion, also called Amortentia which is the most powerful and dangerous of them all!" He announced, but suddenly made a sad face.

"I'd like to show you one, but it somehow disappeared and I couldn't find it," Slughorn sighed, and Daiki had to hold back his laughter when Taiga gave him a mischievous look.

"Well, I guess I have to warn you before we start brewing. Love potions are forbidden at Hogwarts, so if I catch anyone who tries sneaking his or her potion out of the classroom, I'll make sure they lose a decent amount of house points, got that?" He gazed at the students with his often seen irritated look.

"Aside from that, a few of you are invited to the Slug party tonight and I want to remind you that you can bring someone if you want! Nine pm in my office, expect some nice surprises!" he cheered and more than half of the class rolled their eyes because only three or four people were even invited out of their group.

"But let's begin, get your boilers ready, the student who's brewed the best potion by the end of the lesson gets an extra invitation to the party!" Professor Slughorn grinned at them before clearing his throat.

The lesson wasn't really special. Fukuda was once again responsible for a highlight by letting his boiler explode. He and Kawahara were sent to the hospital wing because of a few burns. Kise kept whining the whole time because he'd accidently singed his beautiful blonde hair which now didn't seem to shine as bright as before, and professor Slughorn was about to lock Murasakibara away because the giant looked like he wanted to eat most of the ingredients since their colour looked more than appealing to him.

"Huh? Isn't that the weird book you've found in the closet?" Taiga asked Daiki when said one didn't look the receipe up in his original potions book, but in the one whose owner was the Half-Blood Prince.

"Yeah, just wanted to see if the things he'd written down are right," Daiki answered without averting his gaze from the book.

"Are you even sure it was a guy? The handwriting rather looks like it's from a girl..." Taiga cocked an eyebrow.

"Dude! It's a Half-Blood _Prince,_ not a princess! So it obviously wasn't a girl!" Daiki shouted. Taiga grumbled, thinking a little before he weakly countered:

"What if it was a girl that wanted to be a prince!"

"Oh, yeah right, you only want to save your ass, just admit that you're dumb," Daiki teased him.

"If you can prove you're smarter than me, I will," Taiga fired back.

"Fine, you got me there."

They resumed throwing ingredients into their boilers (and at each other) and Daiki noticed that the notes of the Half-Blood Prince surprisingly seemed to improve his brewing.

"How are you doing this, Dai-chan??" Satsuki asked scandalized when she looked over to him and realized that his potion was better than hers.

"I'm just a genius, that's everything," he grinned and Taiga snorted in the background, causing Satsuki to be mad at him because Daiki was _never_ better than her concerning school.

Slughorn was extremely proud of him when he examined Daiki's potion, stating his was the best and Daiki was sure the entire class hated him now since no one got the chance to also get invited to the party.  
But before that, they had to survive another two hours with Snape first...


	9. The Love Potion accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> Just wanted to warn you because it gets a little smutty towards the end (only a little bit, though xD)  
> Enjoy this loooong chapter!

"Well... that was actually boring..." Taiga stated when the four exited the classroom for D.A.D.A. Indeed nothing unexpected or exciting had happened. The only thing they'd done was listening to Snape's two hours lecture about vampires.

"I somehow feel revived. He didn't even reduced our points," Daiki claimed, stretching himself since he'd fallen asleep in the middle of class.

"He did!" Satsuki replied.

"You just didn't notice because you were asleep."

"Eh? Is that so? Whose fault was it then?"

"Dai-chan, you idiot!" Satsuki hit him.

"Honestly, how could you fall asleep that easily, his presentation wasn't even that bad," Tetsuya said and Daiki grumbled, holding his injured head.

"Haven't you even noticed how Wakamatsu and Fukuda burnt Snape's cape??" Taiga asked excited, grinning even harder when Daiki furrowed his brows.

"They did _what?!"_ He looked a little shocked because, burning Snape's cape?! Daiki didn't know Wakamatsu and Fukuda were both suicidal...

"Yeah, that totally was the highlight!" the redhead laughed, remembering the rather funny scene where the cape had slowly burnt with everyone noticing, but their professor. Snape had turned around to see why his back suddenly felt so warm, but couldn't find anything. He'd turned around another three times before finally realizing that he burnt himself. He'd been so furious at them that Wakamatsu and Fukuda got detention for three whole weeks, along with Furihata, just because he'd been sitting next to the other two, and too scared to reply that he hadn't done anything. Surprisingly, or rather unsurprisingly, Akashi insisted he wanted detention too, obviously because of Furihata.

"Oh man, seems like I've missed the best moment of my life!" Daiki groaned, covering his face in frustration.

"Well, seeing Snape burning is always kind of funny," Tetsuya agreed which didn't make Daiki feel any better.

"Funny for you, but not for Wakamatsu, Fukuda and Furihata... and well, Akashi, but that's another case. Snape wants them to search a few potion ingredients inside the Forbidden Forest. Not an easy task if you ask me," Satsuki reminded them like she wanted Daiki to show at least a little bit of pity.

"I've heard about the Forbidden Forest too! Is it true that centaurs and other creepy creatures are living there?" Taiga threw in.

"Yup. Satsuki and I had been inside it in our first year, along with Haizaki who'd followed us when we tried to save Norbert, Hagrid's Norwegian Ridgeback. Unfortunately, Filch caught us and sent us into the Forbidden Forest," Daiki explained shortly.

"Also, it would've been really helpful if we could've used misdirection on Filch too," he added, glaring a little at Tetsuya who stared back at him innocently.

"Wait a second, you had _a dragon,_ here in Hogwarts _?!"_ Taiga's split brows shot up which looked kinda funny to Daiki.

"Nah, was only a baby. Could breath fire, though," Daiki grinned, feeling a little proud that he'd had an encounter with a real dragon (and it hadn't been the only one after all, never forget the Hungarian Horntail he had to face during the Triwizard Tournament...)

"Cool... I've always wanted to see a dragon!" And there Taiga's eyes began sparkling again.

"Looks like you miss a lot of things at Durmstrang," Daiki sneered a little arrogantly.

"Yeah, right, just like you missed Snape's burning cape," the redhead countered.

"Oh, shut up! At least I haven't had to cope with that boring vampire lecture!"

"Like I said, it wasn't that bad," Tetsuya hummed.

"Right, I didn't know the Ministry allows to hunt down vampires in some cases," Satsuki added.

"Pfff, of course it's like this, you can't just let them run around killing people," Daiki grunted and Satsuki sighed.

"You don't understand, Dai-chan! In which year are we living again, 1850? Vampires should be tolerated by now!"

"No, I don't understand because they're not any different from mass murderers."

"But that _is_ the difference! They _have_ to kill people to survive!"

"What's even the sense of their existence then?!"

"Oh God, Dai-chan! You sound like Umbridge! Every creature on this planet has the right to live!"

"What?! You're comparing _me_ with _Umbridge?!_ It's you who acts like you're on your sick _'Rescue the House-elves'_ trip again! What's next, _'Save the_ _vampires'_?! How many members you think you'll get with that?!"

They didn't seem to notice how their shouting got louder and louder until Tetsuya cleared his throat.

"Ah, sorry," Satsuki immediately apologized while Daiki only clicked his tongue.

"Don't worry, it's somehow sweet to see you fighting," Taiga chuckled, causing the others to frown.

"Yeah, she was about to jump my throat, but fine, if you think that's sweet... Just don't talk to her about House-elves or now even vampires," Daiki huffed, causing Taiga to laugh again.

"To be honest, I thought Tetsuya was a vampire when I first saw him! He's too pale!"

"I don't know if I should take this as a compliment," Tetsuya stared at the redhead blankly.

"You better not," Daiki scoffed.

"Also, you have the red eyes. And you're tall," the short wizard added, causing Taiga to pout.

"Wow, I'm tall too," Daiki snorted.

"I don't know... You'd rather be a werewolf," Taiga looked at him like he was being serious.

"What? Why?!"

"Dunno, just a feeling," the redhead laughed.

"What the hell..." Daiki grumbled when Tetsuya suddenly interrupted again.

"You're entirely wrong, Taiga. Daiki looks more like a mermaid, don't you think?"

"Whaaat?!" Said one barked through the whole corridor, even drowning out Satsuki's and Taiga's laughter.

"Now that you say it... Just look at those ocean blue eyes, totally like a mermaid!" The redhead scooted closer to him to have a look at his eyes and for a second Daiki stared right back into bright red orbs, filled with joy, before he backed off.

"Quit that bullshit, will you!" He hit each Taiga and Tetsuya on the head.

"And me? What's with me? Would I be a mermaid too?" Satsuki asked excited, blinking at them with her big eyes.

"Well, you're more than a Banshee," Daiki teased her and the offended "Dai-chaaaaaan!!!" that followed really had similarities with the scream of a death fairy.

To everyone's relief, Satsuki couldn't stay mad at them longer than five minutes, probably because Tetsuya mentioned the upcoming party, causing her to hug him to death when claiming he was her date.

"I'm ready in about two hours or so!" she giggled when the four arrived inside the Gryffindor common room and Satsuki immediately vanished into her sleeping dorm.

"Two hours?! Are you insane?!" Daiki stared after her in disbelief.

"Guess I'll need about two hours too," Tetsuya stated before turning around to leave the two, showing them his thumbs up.

"Wha...?!"

"Tch, whatever, at least we still have time to relax before that gruesome party," Daiki yawned, and not a second later he laid splayed out on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"You could at least give me some space too," Taiga growled, shoving at Daiki's legs, but without any effects.

"Geez, just search yourself an armchair, you idiot," Daiki complained, kicking at the redhead who retreated with a light glare thrown into the other's direction. The two suddenly heard a familiar hooting and Daiki's head shot up, immediately recognizing that sound.

"Hey, Quaffle! Why aren't you at the Owlery? The others aren't mean to you, are they?" He sat up again, inspecting the small fur ball that had crash-landed into his hands. The owl chirped a few times before turning her head to look at Taiga, causing Daiki to do so too. He frowned deeply when the redhead had backed off and seemed a little paler than usual.

"Oh come on, we had that already," Daiki sighed.

"I- I know, but just because Quaffle didn't bit me yet, it doesn't mean I have to like owls..." Taiga averted his gaze and Daiki couldn't really tell if he was seriously scared ore pouting because of his rather absurd fear of owls.

"Don't move," Daiki ordered, smirking when an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.

"Why...?"  
Before the redhead could say another thing, Daiki had walked up to him, placing Quaffle on his head where she shuffled around a little disoriented. He could see that Taiga was close to just running away, but refrained from doing so because he also didn't want to hurt the small animal on his head.

"See? She likes you, so you have to like her too!" Daiki grinned when Quaffle settled down into Taiga's wild red hair that didn't seem to be that uncomfortable.

"T-take her down now!" the other squirmed awkwardly, but Daiki only giggled when Quaffle stretched herself, staring at her owner like she was on top of the world.

"Nope, she's claimed you as hers now, can't do anything," he laughed, holding his hands up.

"I hate you..." Taiga's glare lost its intensity due to the bird sitting on his head. After several minutes he finally managed to take Quaffle down by himself, quickly setting her down on the table where she hooted dissatisfied, hopping on the wooden surface and shaking her wings.

"Now take this and go to sleep," Daiki smiled at his pet, feeding her a few crumbs of bread before watching how Quaffle flew out of the window.

"Daiki..."

"Yeah?" He turned around to face a serious looking Taiga.

"Owls are nocturnal."

"I can't believe you!! How could you stay in your normal clothes?! It's a party, for Merlin's sake! You two are such disasters!" Satsuki yelled when the four reunited again.

"Oh my God, please stop pretending like it's the end of the world!" Daiki rolled his eyes, still in his Gryffindor sweater like Taiga, with the difference that his was worn out already.

"Well, uh, I don't have such formal clothes," Taiga admitted, staring at Tetsuya and Satsuki admiringly. No wonder, they looked really good together, especially Satsuki's dress was a thing to mention.

"That almost screams for a shopping tour in Hogsmeade then!" she responded, sighing when looking at the two idiots again.

"But it's seriously bad you don't have clothes suited for such events, Taiga. I heard we sixth graders have a Yule Ball this year," Tetsuya said.

"What?! Not again! This is my worst year ever!!" Daiki shouted unbelieving.

"You said that last year too," Tetsuya reminded him, causing the other to groan.

"And the year before."

"Whatever, you can't go to the party like this!" Satsuki interrupted.

"At least wear your capes!" She ordered, sending the two back into their sleeping dorm before she allowed herself to sit down on the couch.

"Just tell me why they're so dumb..." she sighed, Tetsuya shrugging in response. At least it was quiet in the common room since the other students were eating dinner in the Great Hall now.  
After two minutes, Daiki and Taiga returned and Satsuki clicked her tongue when looking at them.

"Guys, please," she groaned, approaching the two and readjusting their sloppy bound ties.

"And we have to do something with your hair!" And with that she directed her wand at them and Daiki felt how his hair got pushed up, revealing his forehead. He heard Taiga chuckling next to him.

"Pfff, you look like a hedgehog now!"  
And when Daiki turned around he had clear sight on Taiga's forehead too, only that his hair was slicked back, too long for anything else.

"Well, you just look horrible," he frowned. Taiga's eyebrows were even more irritating than before, but he didn't know if it still was in a bad way.

"Stop frowning, Dai-chan! You look twice as old already!" Satsuki nagged.

"Please Satsuki, just reverse that damn spell, we both look stupid," he replied, frowning even deeper to annoy her.

"No, you look good, right Tetsuya? Now we should get going!" she decided and turned around.

"Don't worry, you look fine," Tetsuya confirmed blankly, and Daiki didn't know if that helped or not.  
The four exited the common room through the portrait and made their way to Slughorn's office.

"We'll seriously just embarrass ourselves when we show up like this," Daiki whispered to Taiga after making sure Satsuki wouldn't be able to hear him by falling back a little.

"Yeah, we look weird as hell!" Taiga agreed, squinting to spot a few of his bangs that were usually falling over his eyes, but without success.

"Turn around then," Daiki commanded and when the other did so, he raised his hand to ruffle through his hair.

"Whoa, you asshole!" Taiga growled, slapping the hand away.

"Pfff, you just look like something exploded on your head," Daiki grinned, attacking Taiga's hair again. And to his surprise it was really soft, not like he'd expected since it always looked so spikey.

"What the hell, stop it already!" the redhead grumbled, pushing him away once again.

"Wait a second, I'm trying to fix it!" Daiki replied, sinking his hand into the disheveled hair and stroking it down.

"You better don't fuck it up," Taiga glowered at him, but to Daiki it looked like he was pouting.

"I'd love to, but today I decided to be nice," he smirked, satisfied with the result when Taiga's hair almost looked like before, maybe even better. Daiki wondered if one could get a job as a hair stylist in the wizarding world. But becoming an Auror still appealed more to him.

"Now it's my turn!" Taiga claimed and pressed Daiki's dark blue strands down without another word.

"Ow! Stop being so forcefully!" he complained.

"Sorry, but it's not working without force!" the other replied while smoothing the hair back into its original form.

"Your hair is extremely unruly," he huffed concentrated when a few locks still popped up.

"Let me do it, idiot," Daiki took the matter in his own hands when he had enough of Taiga destroying his beautiful hair.

"Why are you covering the scar?" the redhead asked him curiously after Daiki had managed to glue his hair back to his forehead.

"Because this goddamn thing is like a Howler that's screaming _I'm special_ the whole time," he grunted.

"Heh, I thought you like being special," Taiga smirked.

"Well, not always," was the gruff reply before they heard Tetsuya clearing his throat in front of them. The two looked up to see Satsuki glaring at them.

"Sometimes I really hate you!" she sulked and began walking ahead again, faster this time.

"At least we're not looking like complete idiots now," Daiki sighed.

"You always look like complete idiots," Tetsuya replied.

"Tetsuya! Not you too!" Taiga exclaimed offended.

When they arrived at the office, professor Slughorn scooted over to them as soon as he spotted Daiki.

"Daiki! You're finally here! Your friends are also welcome, let's get started then, you're the highlight after all!" he shouted enthusiastically and turned around to the other guests. Daiki couldn't keep himself from scowling when he recognized most of them; The whole rainbow gang, except Akashi who was wandering around in the Forbidden Forest with his Chihuahua, Fukuda and Wakamatsu, then there was Takao, along with Mayuzumi, Hanamiya, Miyaji and some other students around their age.   
When Daiki began examining the big room, draped with unnecessary decorations, he couldn't believe his eyes. There she was! Right behind a golden pillar.  
Romilda Vane!

Perfect! Daiki's mood improved very quickly. This was going to be his chance! Though he didn't know if she ate the chocolates, he could still try his luck. Daiki was aware of his good looks after all.

"Continue and you'll start drooling, you pervert," Taiga spoke up behind him amused, causing the blood to rush into Daiki's head out of embarrassment.

"Maybe you can ask her to dance with you later," he added, winking at him.

"Shut up, I don't need advice from you!" Daiki grunted defensively, turning away from him.

"You do, it was me who had a girlfriend, don't forget that," the redhead bragged.

"Yeah, and don't forget she also broke up with you," Daiki countered, seeing from the corner of his eye how Taiga's shoulders slumped.   
When he looked around again, he noticed that his other two friends both were a little too overdressed. Satsuki was standing out like the only flower on a snowy meadow. And Tetsuya didn't seem as plain as before with his festive robe.

"Good thing we saved our hair," Taiga hummed when also noticing the difference between his friends and the other students. The two agreed to walk over to the buffet when Slughorn cleared his throat to announce something, the volume of his voice seeming to be increased by a spell.

"Good evening, my dear guests! I'm very grateful you all came to my little party and I can proudly say that you're part of the famous Slug-Club now! Enjoy yourselves and empty the buffets!" He clapped his hands a few times, grinning at the students like a little child celebrating his first birthday party. Slughorn then turned on the immense record player standing behind him on a table and the room was filled with music.  
Daiki frowned and turned to Taiga who also looked like he was in the wrong place.

"What the hell are we even doing here... I mean, _Slug-Club_ _?!_ Seriously, that's literally the lamest thing I've ever heard," he groaned, causing the other to laugh.

"Yeah... doesn't sound cool at all. I would've suggested to secretly escape, but you miss your chance with Romilda like that," Taiga shrugged, still grinning.

"Right, I'm thinking about that later, let's go attack the buffet first before Murasakibara manages to let every sweet in this room disappear."

And that was their activity for the next half hour; stuffing themselves to no end with lots of cakes, muffins and interesting magical candy.

"Where are Satsuki and Tetsuya by the way?" Taiga asked with his mouth full.

"Dunno, probably dancing," Daiki responded, not caring for the moment. The music suddenly changed, and the record player played songs of "The Weird Sisters".

"Hey, Daiki, guess that's a sign. Romilda is alone right now," Taiga grinned, nudging him with his elbow.

"If you want to dance with her, you should do it this moment!"

"I... I don't know..." Daiki was suddenly nervous, his hands beginning to sweat.

"Oh, come on, where are your balls, man! Whoa, look! She's watching us!" Taiga gave him a gentle shove into Romilda's direction.

"A-and what am I supposed to do?!" Daiki asked in panic, stumbling almost over his own feet. Taiga rolled his eyes.

"Just ask her if she wants to dance with you. It's not that hard!"

"Alright!" Daiki straightened up, trying to look as confident as possible when approaching his crush.  
But his luck had seemed to run out. He knew it was over when he suddenly heard a loud "Aominecchiiiiiii!" coming his way. And not a second later Kise crushed him in a hug and he had to watch in horror how Romilda passed him without even looking at him and walked over to Taiga instead.

"Aominecchi! Don't you think it's amazing that we're all here at this awesome party?? I bet we-..."

"Fuck off, Kise!" Daiki snarled furiously, causing the blonde to flinch and back off quickly, seeming to realize that the other was in a bad mood. Meanwhile, Romilda waved to Taiga, smiling shyly at him before turning around to vanish inside the crowd of dancing students.  
Shit! This was not going the way Daiki wanted.

"Why didn't you stop her?!" he shouted when he reached Taiga again.

"To say what? Hi Romilda, my friend wants to dance with you but he's too shy to ask you and by the way he wants to seduce you with a love potion! Is that what you want?!"

"No, of course not! And I wasn't shy, Kise hindered me from asking her!" he replied offended. Taiga sighed.

"Alright. I'm sure you'll get your time with her, there's gonna be the right moment for sure."

"I hope so..." Daiki muttered, grabbing an interesting looking drink that was served by a guy walking around with a silver plate.

"Whoa, slow down! You don't even know what that is!" Taiga warned him a little concerned, when Daiki gulped it down in one go.

"Doesn't matter," he grunted, placing the empty glass on the next best table.

"I hate parties," he then scowled.

"Dai-chan, Taiga! There you are, we've been searching you!" Satsuki suddenly popped up in front of them, Tetsuya at her side.

"Huh, what's the matter?" Taiga asked.

"Well, Miyaji wants me to tell you that he's going to take your position as a Chaser if you fail in our first official game against Ravenclaw next Saturday," Tetsuya informed him, causing the redhead to sigh loudly.

"He can't let me in peace, can he..."

"Ah, and Slughorn wants to talk to you, Dai-chan!" Satsuki added, causing Daiki to groan.

"Oh God, I don't want to..." he exhaled frustrated.

"Uh, I think I'll go back, I forgot something," Taiga suddenly informed them, causing Satsuki to look at him startled.

"What?! Already?? We've only been here for an hour!"

"Well... homeworks..."

"You still haven't done them?!"

"No, so see you later I guess," he grinned at them a little unsurely before making his way out of the office.

"Looks like he isn't a party type either. Just like you, Daiki," Tetsuya concluded.

"Yeah, I'll join him as soon as I'm done with professor Slughorn," Daiki huffed.

"There you are, Daiki! Come here, my boy and tell me what you think of my party!" Daiki felt like running away when he heard the professor's cheerful voice.

"Uh... It's great." He tried his best to let it sound like he was honest.

"You can only expect the best from me. Looks like Mr Kagami already left, though," he frowned a little which made him look sad.

"At least you're enjoying the party! And of course you earn my respect for being one of my best students!" Slughorn patted him on the shoulder and laughed.

"Thank you...?" Daiki responded hesitantly. He never got praised by a teacher, that usually was Satsuki's job, but well, Slughorn seemed to be a special case concerning said matter. He was collecting students like trophies, even the ones who only had famous parents like Mayuzumi or Hanamiya. Most of the others had a special talent in brewing potions or casting difficult spells and a few just smuggled themselves into the office to also be part of the party.

But from what Daiki knew, he was Slughorn's number one. Now when he thought about it, it probably wasn't that bad. He got good grades in Potions and could ask him things he wouldn't dare asking other teachers.

"Ah, I hope I'm not stopping you from celebrating," he laughed and then looked at Satsuki.

"You look wonderful tonight, Ms Momoi. Oh, you too, Mr Kuroko. It's a wonder I haven't noticed you before! Whatever, go back to dancing or maybe try the Dragon Cakes at the buffet, I heard they're very promising!" he grinned at them and Daiki used this as a chance to get away from the way too talkative professor.

"Uhm, I'm not that eager to eat a Dragon Cake, they give you a bad breathe, but I wouldn't say no to another dance with Tetsuya," Satsuki admitted, smiling shyly at the short wizard next to her.

"If it makes you happy..." Tetsuya commented, causing the witch to squeal happily and choking him to death with a hug. Daiki sighed, making his last attempt in spotting Romilda, but he knew there's no way she'd dance with him when he saw her surrounded by all her giggling friends again. Deciding that this just wasn't his night, he wished his two friends a good evening and excused himself, making his way back to the Gryffindor Tower.

Daiki had exited the office probably half an hour after Taiga, so it was possible that the redhead was asleep already since Daiki hadn't bought the excuse with the missing homeworks. At least he couldn't get on his nerves then, it was pretty late after all. The others from their sleeping dorm were still crouching around in the Forbidden Forest, so they presumably would return in the early morning. That's if Filch allowed them to sleep in the first place, which he was not so positive of.

Against his assumption, Taiga was still awake when he returned. He was sitting on his bed in the dark room and stared at the night sky through the open window. When Daiki switched on the light, he turned around to look at him.

"Oh, hey Daiki, you back already?" Said one cocked an eyebrow due to the rare softness in his voice. He shrugged it off, the other was probably tired.

"As you can see, yeah," Daiki responded, throwing his shoes next to his bed before walking up to him.

"Don't you think it's beautiful, too?" the redhead asked him, his voice still sounding a little off.

"Huh? What?" Daiki grunted, plopping down next to him, staring outside like Taiga did.

"The moon..." he sighed dreamily, causing Daiki to get a little irritated. The feeling even increased when the other suddenly placed his head on his shoulder, snuggling into him a bit before humming satisfied.

"Uh, dude, are you okay?" Daiki asked a little concerned. Taiga had never been one of those touchy feely people like Kise, and he slowly began suspecting that something was wrong when the redhead suddenly took his hand.

"Ah, Daiki... How can it be that you're even more beautiful than the moon?"

_What the fuck?!_  
There really _was_ something wrong!   
Daiki froze when he felt a pair of lips grazing his neck and Taiga's breath inhaling his scent all of a sudden.  
Holy freaking shit!!!  
Able to break away from his rigid, he jumped back startled, hitting the bedpost with his back.

"What the fuck, man?!" he yelled, falling to the ground when he looked into Taiga's eyes, his pupils blown widely, his eyes more black than red.

"What are you doing, Daiki? You're always so nervous," he chuckled and Daiki managed to stand up again. What the hell was wrong with Taiga?! That wasn't him!  
His confusion prevented him from dodging the redhead who approached him and suddenly embraced him in a hug against his own will.  
Daiki tried his best getting out of his arms, but as expected that wasn't an easy task since Taiga's muscles weren't only for show.

"Daiki, you smell so good, you're so amazing! I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I'll be with you all the time and I'll never let you go! There's no comparison to how much I love you!" Taiga sighed, pressing the other even closer to him.  
And all of a sudden the scales fell from Daiki's eyes.  
The love potion!  
No, no, no, no, no, this wasn't happening, how was it possible that...?  
Daiki's thoughts got interrupted when he suddenly saw the box of chocolates he'd originally gifted Romilda laying on Taiga's bed sheets, with the difference that it was opened now.

"Where did you get the chocolates from?" he asked sternly, causing Taiga to look at him in bewilderment.

"That's not important right now, some girl gave it to me the other day, I don't remember her. All that matters is you, Daiki! You're the most important person in my life, I couldn't live without you!"

"Oh, God!!" Daiki cursed, pressing his teeth together. This just wasn't possible!! Romilda had given the sweets to Taiga because she obviously was interested in him! She didn't know they were mixed with the love potion, but still! Just the thought made Daiki furious.

"What's up, Daiki? Is something wrong? I'll do everything to help you!" Taiga sounded worried and raised his hands to cup Daiki's face, but the latter one slapped them away harshly.

"Fuck off, goddamnit!!" he barked, pushing the redhead away. How the hell should he deal with him in that state?!

"D-daiki, what's up? Don't you love me back?" Tears began dwelling up in his eyes and even though this sight was screaming for Daiki to stop it, he continued yelling.

"What the fuck, no!! Of course not, why would you think that! It's gross and I'm not even gay, so quit it right now!!" He regretted those words immediately when Taiga looked like something just broke inside him. Daiki felt his own chest tightening when taking in that desperate hurt expression.

"You really... I... I always thought..." Daiki's heart stopped for a beat when tears began streaming down Taiga's face and he started sobbing heavily, looking like he'd collapse every second because of his shaking body. Daiki couldn't say anything when he watched the redhead stumble over to the window.

"I... I can't... I can't live in a world without you loving me! My life isn't worth living anymore..." He set one foot on the window frame and it was that moment when Daiki realized Taiga was really going to jump.

"Jesus Christ!! Don't!!" he hustled over towards him, gripping his arm and pulling him back, away from the window. Taiga tried freeing himself, but his attempts were weak due to his broken heart. He gave up after a short time and just sank to the ground, close to crying a river.

"B-but I... I don't want to live anymore. What's a life without you loving me? I can't take it..." the redhead sobbed and Daiki was sure he'd never felt that guilty before. He knew it was impossible to convince him there were other things worth living for while his feelings were manipulated by the love potion.

"Hey... It's fine, alright? I... I love you too, okay...?" Daiki managed to press out of himself, trying to sound as gentle as possible when he hesitantly reached out to hug the devastated redhead. It was awkward as fuck, but he forced himself to remain in that position for a few minutes.

"R-really..?" Taiga finally looked up to him, his eyes big and Daiki saw hope shining inside them.

"Sure... I, I really... love y-you... and of course I don't want you to die!" He cleared his throat in the middle, trying to get his voice back. Taiga wiped his eyes before grinning at him. Still a little sad, but it seemed like he was at least out of danger.

"Thanks, Daiki! I love you too! I want to be close to you all the time!" And with that, Taiga suddenly got closer to him, sitting down in his lap and cornering Daiki, pressing him against the bed post. Before Daiki could do anything against it, the redhead suddenly leaned forward and captured his lips in a kiss without a warning.  
Like before, Daiki's body shut off completely, his mind screaming inwardly.

Shit, shit, shit!! His first kiss he'd saved for Romilda was taken by no one other than Taiga of all people!!  
He felt like throwing up because, ew! He'd never imagined, never _wanted_ to imagine what it felt like being kissed by a guy! Daiki knew if he would've been able to move, he would sprint out of this room as fast as possible, lock the door behind him and wash his mouth!  
But then he remembered the open window, and God!! He had no other choice than to play along.

"Daiki, you're making a weird face, are you okay?" Taiga asked him, concern clearly present in his voice when he shifted in his lap, stroking his hair.

"I- I'm fine!!" Daiki lied which caused the other to smile again.

"You're so beautiful! You're mine forever!" Taiga bent down for another time, kissing him once again and Daiki felt ill when the redhead began sliding his tongue inside his mouth. It didn't seem to matter to him that Daiki wasn't responding in the least, probably because of the love potion. As long as Taiga got what he wanted, he wouldn't complain.

The redhead moaned when finally taking his tongue out and Daiki thought he could breathe for a short moment, but he felt like suffocating when there suddenly was something hard poking his stomach.  
No! This was not happening!! He definitely was in deep trouble...

"Ah, Daiki..." Taiga drawled, licking his earlobes and slowly wandering down to his neck, kissing his throat and lapping at his collar bones.  
It was absolutely mortifying for Daiki. This was worse than hundred lessons with Snape. He felt so disgusting, if it wasn't for the other's well-being, he would have hit him more than a few times already.  
In fact he was close to doing so when he suddenly felt teeth scraping his neck, shortly before Taiga began sucking at the sensitive skin. Daiki briefly considered jumping out of the window himself.   
Hugging? Fine, but leaving a mark?! Everyone would be able to see it!! And then there still was Taiga's boner which made him sickly aware of the fact that the redhead was pretty horny!

"Daiki..." the redhead mumbled, causing said one to look at him, just to see his darkened eyes, filled with so much lust Daiki got scared for a second. Love potions really were dangerous...

"I... I want to make love to you..."  
Those words caused him to flinch violently, hitting his back once again.  
What?! He wanted to...??? No!!! Not in thousands of years!   
Daiki wasn't going to sleep with Taiga, even if it meant the redhead would jump out of the window.  
By second thought, it would be pretty depressing and sad when he committed suicide, but Daiki could never ever have sex with a guy, especially Taiga!!

Maybe there was another solution! Yeah, right, he'd just delay the situation and wait until Satsuki comes back, helping him with some sort of an antidote. Though it was going to be extremely embarrassing for him and Taiga, especially when he'd get back to normal. Daiki learned in class that the victim won't lose their memories of what happened after they'd drunken a love potion...

He quickly remembered his original situation when Taiga suddenly began stripping in front of him.

"W-wait...!! We... We can't do that! Tetsu will return, and..." But Daiki knew it was useless. The effects of a love potion were heavy after all.

"I don't care..." Taiga rumbled deeply, half naked already, only wearing his jeans.

Damn it!! This slowly developed into Daiki's worst nightmare. Not only that he had the continuous urge to vomit, adding to that was a growing fear.

"No, Taiga, we can't!!" he yelled in one last attempt, pressing himself against the barricade behind him in order to create as much space as possible between them.

"Why...?" There was that sad heartbroken look again.

"I love you and you love me, so it's only natural for us to sleep together..."

"No! I... I'm not in the mood, okay?!" Daiki growled, perhaps a little too rude because Taiga's lips began quivering again, his eyes watering.

"D-does that mean, you don't love me back...? If not, I don't want to live anymore, and-..." His gaze wandered back to the window.

"Okay, okay, okay, fine!! I love you, alright??" Daiki quickly cut him off, exhaling in relief when the redhead smiled again.

"Honestly? You're so sweet, Daiki!"

Oh God, talking to Taiga felt like arguing with a three year old...   
Daiki then realized a little too late to what he had agreed when the redhead suddenly lifted him up gently to pull him with him on the bed. He looked at the redhead a little shocked because, what the heck, he shouldn't be able to pick him up from the ground that easily!   
Daiki watched in horror how Taiga helped, or rather forced him out of his clothes and they both suddenly were wearing nothing but their underpants.

And Jesus Christ, everything Daiki was feeling right now was a mix between disgust, embarrassment, fear and the wish to just die.  
He tried not to squirm away too much when Taiga began caressing his torso delicately and laid his head down on his chest. Daiki almost hoped it would just stay like this, but of course he was wrong. The redhead started placing small kisses all over his body and Daiki begged inwardly for Tetsuya and Satsuki to finally return!

"Huh? Daiki, you're not hard yet." Taiga sounded more worried than surprised and it was really hard for Daiki to not kick him away when he felt a hand being placed on his crotch.

"Uwaahh! Stop!!" he screamed nonetheless, his voice suddenly as high as Satsuki's, causing Taiga to give him a confused look when Daiki rolled to the side to avoid being touched. It was almost funny how he'd complained to Taiga hugging him in the beginning and now he was already touching his dick, what the hell!! He wouldn't mind hugging him all night long when it came to nothing more.

"You don't have to be that nervous, it's okay. I'll always love you Daiki, we can take it slow," the redhead hummed caring and brought him back in position.

" _Very_ slow, please!!" Daiki emphasized, adding an unspoken "not at all would be my favorite". He was sure there hadn't been an other moment in his life where he'd needed Satsuki with an antidote that urgently!!

"Of course," Taiga chuckled and there the hand was again, penetrating Daiki through his briefs. Oh God, he just wanted to die now...

"And? How does it feel?" Taiga leaned forward to whisper into his ear, his voice suddenly deep and raspy. And shit... The touches _did_ certain things to Daiki. He felt all of his blood rushing downwards, his only wish to finally wake up from that nightmare. He'd _never_ been that embarrassed before! He just got an erection because Taiga touched him! If he should hate himself now or not he wasn't certain of, but Daiki was ashamed so much he couldn't think straight. Yeah, and that was his problem...  
Could one be straight after they got a boner from another dude?!?!

"I can give you a blowjob, you know?" Taiga suggested all of a sudden, and the pure imagination caused a wave of utter disgust to overwhelm Daiki which fortunately made his erection fade.  
And when he noticed the door to their sleeping dorm opening, he knew he was saved. There he was, his savior's jaw immediately hitting the ground when Tetsuya saw the two of them laying almost naked on top of each other in the same bed.

"Uh... am I interrupting...?" he asked slowly and for a short moment Daiki enjoyed Tetsuya's expression, wandering between shocked and confused.

"Yes, you are!" Taiga pouted and just continued to caress Daiki's body, the touch making him cough. Tetsuya frowned even more, looking like he didn't know if it was best for him to stay or to exit the dorm as quick as possible, not intending to come back for a while. Before he could decide for the latter one, Daiki quickly spoke up.

"Tetsu, help!! It's a love potion! Get Satsuki, quick!!" he rasped before he was choked by one of Taiga's passionate kisses again. The short wizard blinked at them a few times, still weirded out by the whole situation when finally processing Daiki's words.

"On my way!" he then responded and hushed out of the dorm again, letting Daiki suffer for another two minutes before he returned with Satsuki.

"Aawww, Dai-chan!" was the first thing she said when entering the dorm which was not exactly the thing Daiki wanted to hear right now.

"Satsuki, please, just do something!!" he quickly shouted because he found out that it was difficult to talk when his mouth was occupied with, or rather by someone else.

"Fine, although it's your fault you gave him a love potion," she sighed, and Daiki had the feeling Satsuki somehow was content with watching them a little longer.

"It's not like that! Satsuki, please!!" He let his voice sound as desperate as possible.

"Why are so many people here? I want to be alone with Daiki now!" Taiga muttered coldly, briefly averting his gaze from Daiki to glare at the others.

"Alright, I'll ask professor Slughorn for an antidote," Satsuki smiled at him and made her way to the exit.

"Please hurry!!"

"Uh... I guess I'll wait in the common room..." Tetsuya mumbled, and swished out of the room quickly before Daiki could stop him.

"Ah, we're finally alone again..." Taiga sighed, brushing his chest against Daiki's before looking at him.

"You sounded like you don't want to sleep with me, though..."  
No, no, no, not that look again!

"Are you not enjoying this?"  
Of course not! Daiki would have loved to bark those words back at him, but a cold breeze reminded him of the window's existence.  
Shit...

"O-of course I am! Of course! I'm looking forward to... uh, you know..." he coughed, only to see Taiga's face lit up again.

"Really? Oh, Daiki, I love you so much! I'm so happy you like me back!"  
And Daiki knew what came next when Taiga closed the distance between them again.   
This had to stop!!! Now!! He was close to losing his mind when he felt the redhead's tongue licking him in places where it shouldn't be.  
What took Satsuki so long to get the fucking antidote?! Daiki swore if she was doing this on purpose, he'd kill her!

"You're so cute when you're shy, Daiki," Taiga chuckled and it needed all of Daiki's mental strength to not reply to that. He'd never been shy for fuck's sake! He just wanted this to be over as soon as possible.

"Can we... do it?" Taiga suddenly asked him again and Daiki shivered when the other's fingers crept under his waistband, tugging at the soft material.

"W-wait!! We... we don't have a condom!" was the first thing coming to his mind. Taiga just smiled, bending down again to gaze at him with his clouded eyes.

"We don't need one..."  
Daiki gulped.

"W-what about lube...?? I... uhm, heard that it's needed for... gay... sex." he stuttered, his voice trailing off towards the end.

"Huh? As wizards we can just use a spell to-..."

"Alright, alright! B-but, but I'm..."  
Think, Daiki, think!!

"I'm sick, you know? Really really bad, and when we... do it, you'll get sick too..." he tried, but a small part of him already knew it was useless.

"I don't care," was the predictable answer and Daiki screeched when his only piece of clothing was pulled down. Fortunately, someone (hopefully Satsuki), entered the room again, so that Taiga was distracted for a second which Daiki used to cover himself again.

"Dai-chan! I'm back!" Satsuki came bursting through the door, a small phial in one hand, filled with a transparent liquid.

"Oh God, finally!!" Daiki groaned while eyeing the object that would save his ass, literally...

"Taiga, would you be so kind to drink that?" Satsuki asked him as she approached the two.

"No!" said one growled, placing his arms around Daiki in protest as if he didn't want Satsuki to get to close to what was his. She then shot a suggestive look into Daiki's direction who catched the hint on an instant.

"Hey, uhm, Taiga, if you drink this we can..."

"Hm?" the redhead blinked at him expectantly.

"I... I'll let you do everything to me you want, okay?"  
It would be a wonder if this worked...

"Daiki, I love you! I'll do everything you want, too!"   
Maybe the love potion just made him even more stupid...  
Daiki watched how the redhead accepted the phial from Satsuki, gulping it down completely and holy fuck, the result was stunning.

From one second to another, his dazed eyes cleared again and the dreamy expression vanished all at once. Then Taiga's eyes widened in realization, he began blushing heavily before dropping the empty bottle in his hands, letting it fall to the ground where it shattered to pieces. The next moment Daiki was looking at the redhead again, he had backed off to the room's other end with what seemed to be inhuman speed.

"What the..." he panted heavily and when he noticed he was almost naked he squeaked surprised, quickly covering his crotch with his hands, avoiding Satsuki's rather amused gaze.

"Oh God, oh God, holy freaking shit!!" Taiga blurted loudly.

"Well, I've thought that the whole time..." Daiki commented a little smugly, now that it was over.

"You!" Taiga hissed, wiping his mouth in disgust.

"You and your fucking love potion!!" he hollered furiously. Daiki noticed how Satsuki silently sneaked out of the room.

"How the hell should I have known that Romilda gave _you_ the fucking chocolates?!" he defended himself.

"I don't know, but you should have at least told me about them!!" Taiga roared.

"Okay, okay! It's my fault, I'm sorry! Calm down, alright?" Daiki raised his hands, not wanting to pick a fight with him right now. It seemed to work, at least Taiga wasn't looking like he was going to shout at him anymore. Instead he opted for scowling at him before he changed into his pyjamas without another word. Every time Daiki opened his mouth to say something, he got a furious glare thrown in his direction, keeping him quiet.

When Daiki finally climbed into his own bed, he knew that he'd fucked it up. Losing his friendship with Taiga because of something stupid like this was ridiculous, that's why he was determined to make up with him tomorrow. What he didn't know was that it only had been the first time he fucked up. And it wasn't even the worst one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in Norway for a week, so I have to look if I can update next weekend. I promise to give my best!


	10. Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, I really hate hiking! Especially when it starts raining all of a sudden.

Taiga ignored Daiki the next morning. Completely, which caused him to get pissed and he would've almost yelled at the redhead if Satsuki hadn't kicked him under the table, giving him a look that said: "You wanted to make up with him, so do not make this harder than it is already!"

But of course it was pretty awkward for both of them and Daiki eventually decided to let the other alone for a little longer. Every time he looked at Taiga, the other would just turn away and avoid him. Was he really that embarrassed? Well, he had the right to be, but it had been a horrible experience for Daiki too! It would be so much easier if they both could just shrug it off like nothing had happened.

The problem was even he knew this wasn't as easy as it looked like. Daiki was aware of the fact that he'd also not be able to look Taiga right into the eyes for the next days. He wasn't really angry at the other, but Taiga sure was angry at him; It had been Daiki's fault after all.

But there also was one thing that enraged him.  
Romilda had given the chocolates _he_ gifted her to Taiga, and that was a thing he couldn't and didn't want to understand. Who'd even be that mean to just give a gift to someone else?! That was what really hurt Daiki, and he definitely wasn't ready to give up on Romilda, so that had hit him hard.

Satsuki and Tetsuya also noticed Taiga's and his change in behavior towards each other. How could they not, the silence said everything and it seemed like their two friends almost missed their constant bickering. Other students in their class this morning noticed too, it was much more quieter than usual in the greenhouses during Herbology. Furihata (who seemed like he'd survived his trip through the Forbidden Forest) once asked Taiga if he was okay, and Daiki was really surprised how the redhead managed to act like everything was fine. He just gave Furihata his smile, and the latter one was immediately convinced the silence between him and Daiki was nothing serious.

Daiki was extremely relieved no one else knew about the accident with the love potion and once again, he was happy to have Satsuki and Tetsuya as friends and not Kise, who would have told the matter to the whole school already. There still was a problem, though. A rather big one.

"Aominecchi? Are you ill?? You're wearing a scarf!" Kise who unfortunately watered his creepy plant next to him made a step backwards, not wanting to possibly catch a cold from him. Daiki rolled his eyes and was about to deny it, but when he considered that being sick would keep the Barbie from hugging him, it was a better choice to say yes.

"Yeah, I'm very, very sick!" he faked and heavily coughed a few times right into his face, watching with amusement how Kise shrieked and stumbled back even further, accidently taking his plant with him, causing the pot to fall to the ground and shatter loudly into pieces. The next moment a shadow was looming over him.

"Mr Kise, you're really eager to scrub the greenhouses, are you?" professor Sprout sure was close to rip his head off, causing Kise to begin shaking.

Daiki sighed. He hoped the blonde would stay the last one who asked about the scarf.   
When Daiki had stood up this morning and exited the sleeping dorm he'd ran right into Satsuki who'd looked a little funny at him before telling him the remnants of the love potion effect were still seeable on his neck. Daiki had frowned, not being really fast with words when finally remembering the hickey Taiga had left on him while he'd been controlled by the potion. Daiki's face had been all red the next second and he'd hustled back into the dorm, covering the small purplish spot on his neck with his hands and trying his best to find his old Gryffindor scarf as quick as possible.

* * *

 

During lunch, Daiki's mood was down because of the annoying piece of clothing that kept getting in his way while eating.

"Hagrid told me he'll show us a nice creature today," Tetsuya said, in hope to begin a conversation, but it wasn't really working.

"He says that every time," Daiki grunted, pressing the scarf down to take another bite from his sandwich. It was silent after that and the four continued eating. After ten minutes, Taiga stood up, excused himself and made his way out of the Great Hall. When he was out of reach, Satsuki looked at Daiki.

"Go after him and finally apologize!" she commanded and Daiki was about to reply, but he knew just by looking into her eyes that she'd jinx him into an ugly animal if he wasn't going to do so.

"Fine," Daiki growled and stood up, following the redhead to the Gryffindor common room. He finally caught him in a corridor, seeing his chance since they were alone.

"Wait, idiot!" he shouted as Taiga began walking faster when he noticed Daiki behind him. He was ignoring him like before and almost started running when Daiki began speeding up too.

"I said wait!!" he yelled again.

"You can't be serious! By Merlin's mumbling mug, you do not let me an other choice!" And with that Daiki aimed his wand at the redhead.

"Flipendo!" The sound of a body hitting the floor along with a loud groan assured that the spell didn't miss its target.

"You asshole!" Taiga finally looked at him while standing up, though his eyes weren't shining as always.

"At least you're talking to me!"

"I have no reason to do so, so be a little more considerate, will you?" he grunted, not being able to flee when Daiki approached him.

"I'm sorry, okay?! About what happened! It was my fault to not tell you that I've put the love potion into the chocolates. So can we just forget this?" Daiki sure knew that an apology shouldn't sound this harsh, but he was giving his best. Taiga looked to the side, refusing to direct his gaze at the other. When he said nothing, Daiki decided to speak again.

"Hey, I'm not apologizing to everyone all day, so you should feel honored!" Okay, that probably wasn't the best thing to say now, but Daiki began losing his patience too.

"Are we okay now!!" He shook Taiga by his shoulders when he still wasn't responding. But as soon as he touched him, the redhead flinched, avoiding Daiki's hands and backing off.

"Can you... just leave me alone," Taiga finally muttered, gazing at the ground.

"What?" Daiki asked bewildered. What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

"I... want you to let me to myself a little longer," he repeated, causing Daiki to furrow his eyebrows.

"Okay...?" he mumbled, not knowing how he should respond to this. But if the redhead wanted to be alone he shouldn't make it worse.

"Fine, so... talk to me when you're good, alright?" Daiki decided to ask, but got nothing more than a slight nod from Taiga before the redhead left him standing alone in the corridor.

* * *

 

Although Daiki had apologized like Satsuki wanted, there still remained a certain tension between him and Taiga. There seemed to be something that bothered the redhead and he refused to tell Daiki. The latter one just hoped he wouldn't stay too long like this, it was a little boring without him after all. Daiki had almost managed to shrug the love potion accident off, but not completely to his displeasure. There still was the fact that he got hard because the redhead had touched his dick. Every time he remembered it, Daiki had to resist the urge to hide his face behind his hands, along with the wish to sink into the ground.

He just had too many things to think about, he was sure his head would explode if it kept going on like this. First, there was Voldemort with the fucking Time-Turner, then there was Romilda who just gifted his chocolates away, next was the insecure friendship between him and Taiga, and what Daiki annoyed most was the small voice inside him that wouldn't stop telling him he couldn't be straight anymore, after getting a boner from a dude.

No wonder Daiki was in a bad mood for the rest of the day, in contrary to Taiga who talked to everyone like always. Although he wasn't as cheerful, he still managed to make everyone like him with his incredible smile. Daiki scowled while watching him as they walked to Care of Magical Creatures. He still remembered how most students kept their distance to Taiga in the beginning, and now he seemed to be friends with almost everyone.   
He seemed so normal, so why was he refusing to talk to him?! If it was about the things he'd said or done to Daiki after drinking the potion, he really should know that it wasn't his fault since he had been controlled. But Taiga wouldn't stay quiet over something like that, right?

The redhead avoided him for the rest of the day, so that Daiki got into his bed with a huff this evening, frustrated to no ends. Wakamatsu hadn't helped him with his constant shouting, so Daiki had thrown his favorite pair of underpants out of the window to shut him up. Shut him up meant in that case that Wakamatsu who began cursing and insulting Daiki, had to go the whole way through the castle to the outside to get them back, since his Wingardium Leviosa was too weak to reach the ground from that far above.

Daiki had problems to sleep, so he stared holes into the wall across from him. His gaze eventually shifted down to the back of Taiga's head. The room was dim, but he still was able to make out the red colour of his vivid hair. The next moment, he was turning around with a ruffle of his bedsheets, so that Daiki was able to look right at his face. And since he'd nothing else to do, he just kept staring.

After a few minutes of observing him, he sure understood why a girl would give him chocolates. His face looked kind of marvelous in the faint moon light and Daiki couldn't spot any asymmetrical features. Taiga's nose was straight as an arrow, his cheekbones were high which made him more attractive, and a few strands of his hair were entangled in his long lashes. Daiki couldn't prevent his own eyes to go half-lidded when noticing how peaceful the other looked when he was sleeping. His lips were slightly opened and Daiki imagined to make out his calm breathing.

But not a second later, Daiki's eyes were wide open again. What the heck was he even thinking?! He shouldn't see Taiga in such a way! He quickly turned around so that he wasn't able to look at him anymore.   
This just can't be true! Daiki was a little grossed out by his own thoughts, but he explained them with his tiredness. Yeah, that was the cause. He was so tired that he began thinking strangely.  
And with that excuse, he slowly began to doze off.

* * *

 

When Daiki opened his eyes again, he felt a warm body laying next to him. It was Taiga. Daiki blinked in confusement. Something was definitely wrong here. He tried squirming away when the other's body moved closer to him, seeming to be still asleep, but to his fright, he wasn't able to do so. When he looked around, he noticed that all the others in their sleeping dorm were gone, he and Taiga were the only ones. Daiki frowned. Something really _was_ off. It was that moment when he noticed that he was naked. And to his horror, Taiga wasn't wearing anything too. Daiki really struggled with getting away when the other suddenly began opening his eyes, but like before he just couldn't move.

"Oh, you're awake already?" Taiga asked him with a tired voice that just sounded like his deep rumbling he had uttered during the incident with the love potion.   
When Daiki tried responding to that, no words came out of his opened mouth, and it was really bad to not be able to move nor speak while being in such a situation. What the hell was even happening right now?!

He suddenly felt a warm big hand on his skin, caressing his cheek. Daiki tried getting away once more, but he was trapped. He finally gave up in defeat, still not understanding why this was happening or how he got here, but after a few more moments he suddenly began liking the touch. The fingers grazing his skin were soft and gentle.

"Hey, Daiki, don't close your eyes, you have to stay awake," he heard Taiga chuckling right next to his ear.  
How impressive his eyes are, Daiki thought, staring right into the other's face. He didn't know that there were so many different shades of red. Daiki felt his heart speeding up when he realized their noses were only a few inches apart. And like the evening before, he began thinking how beautiful Taiga's face was.  
Daiki wasn't even thinking about trying to dodge when the redhead closed the distance between them. He just let it happen. But before he could feel his lips connecting with his own, he suddenly woke up.

For a few minutes Daiki stared at the dark ceiling in bewilderment. Then he exhaled in relief. It had been just a dream. And it was over now.  
But the next question was, why was he dreaming shit like that? Taiga being in "love" with him had been a horrible experience after all, so why...?

"Was is really that bad?" a tiny voice inside him recalled the events of last night. Of course it had been terrifying. He had felt nothing more than disgust, right?  
Right...?

Daiki realized he'd stopped breathing for a moment, his mind overflowing with thoughts.  
But was it really bad to think of Taiga as cute? The way his eyebrows would quirk up when he was surprised, the way he pouted when he was scared of Quaffle, the way he blinked when he didn't understand what others were talking about. And also, not every smile managed to warm his heart like that.

But on the other hand, Daiki had been afraid of Taiga's touches. He hadn't liked it when the redhead had caressed his bare chest, he'd even been disgusted of the kisses. So it couldn't be that Daiki... liked him, right? Or was he just grossed out because Taiga was a dude and Daiki refused to be gay?  
Whatever it was, he was thinking way too much and he should try to sleep. Remembering the upcoming quidditch match helped him, and he was finally able to close his eyes again.

The next morning, Daiki didn't know anymore what he'd dreamed of after he'd fallen asleep again. Therefore he couldn't get the pictures of his dream about Taiga out of his head. He groaned loudly, hiding under his blanket in embarrassment.

When the friends got down to the Great Hall, the redhead still wasn't talking to Daiki, but he wasn't at least completely ignoring him anymore. He sure noticed how Taiga occasionally glanced at him, but quickly looked away a second later.

"What's up, Dai-chan?" Satsuki asked him, when Daiki placed his head on the Gryffindor table.

"Fridays are so boooring," he groaned, causing the girl to roll her eyes.

"Last week you said you love Fridays," Tetsuya reminded him, refilling his cup of pumpkin juice already for the third time.

"But I'm tired... Can I skip Transfiguration?"

"No, you can't!" Satsuki shouted, hitting him on the head.

"And also, I've planned a trip to the library for tonight! We have to get a book from the Restricted Section!" she lowered her voice.

"Ugh, go alone..."

"You're so uncool, Dai-chan! No wonder Romilda refuses to go out with you!" She turned away from him offended.

"Hey, Taiga, you're so quiet, what's the matter?" Tetsuya suddenly asked the redhead who was staring at his empty plate.

"Why aren't you eating anything? You're not sick, are you??" Satsuki looked at him concerned, but Taiga shook his head.

"I'm fine. I'm just excited because of the quidditch match tomorrow. I can't wait to play against Ravenclaw," he smiled at them, but it seemed like only Daiki noticed that he was faking it.

During Transfiguration class, it was unusually loud because professor McGonagall suddenly was ordered to the headmaster's office. Since the class only consisted of Ravenclaw's and Gryffindor's, most of the students began trash talking about the upcoming quidditch match instead of concentrating on how to transform a turtle into a frisbee. Fortunately Taiga had managed to put his wand out of Takao's reach, before the latter one could jinx the whole school with it.

To Daiki's surprise, Romilda was suddenly making his way over to his and Taiga's table, but to his displeasure, he knew exactly with who she wanted to talk.

"Hey," she smiled at the redhead, ignoring Daiki who began frowning deeply. When Taiga looked up to her, she smiled even more.  
Shit, that must be a heavy crush, Daiki thought, deciding to avert his gaze.

"Uhm, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to eat lunch with me..."   
It was impossible for Daiki to not listen to her delicate voice.

"That's... really nice of you, but I'm eating with my friends already, so..." Taiga replied, his voice low.

What?! The chance to eat with Romilda was given to him and he denied?! Was he a fucking idiot?!  
But by second thought, Daiki was fine with the two not spending time with each other.

"Maybe another time then?" she asked.

"Yeah, maybe," Taiga responded, and Daiki knew without looking that he was showing her his irresistible smile as an apology. He glared at the sleeping turtle in front of him. Romilda was supposed to talk with him, goddamnit! Not with Taiga who she didn't even know. _He_ was the prodigy after all!

Daiki's mood was down for the rest of the day, and instead of doing something against it, he began insulting people and got pissed over nothing like Furihata accidently dropping his fucking Puffapod next to him. Satsuki and Tetsuya seemed to be aware of his dark aura too because they distanced themselves like Taiga, with the difference that they tried cheering him up by times.

Apropos Taiga, after he'd left Satsuki and Tetsuya in the library, Daiki had spotted him with Romilda again. And what the hell, it was worse than he'd thought. Daiki couldn't believe his eyes when he decided to follow the two and suddenly found them kissing in an empty corridor. Like what the fuck, they didn't even know each other?! He only saw Taiga's back, but Romilda clearly had wrapped her arms around his body and stood on the tips of her toes to reach his lips.

Daiki was sure his eyes would pop out of his head if he'd continue staring at them another second. And like a little child, he turned around and stormed off.   
He ran all the way to the bathroom in the seventh floor, where he supported himself with his hands on the sink, panting heavily.  
This just wasn't fair! He tried getting Romilda's attention for almost a year now, and then she suddenly was after Taiga who'd turned up at Hogwarts not that long ago!?

Why was this so unfair?! How the hell did he deserve that?! Taiga should get his fucking hands off her, and since when was he even interested in Romilda? He'd refused to eat with her, so why now all of a sudden?   
Daiki curled his fists, his knuckles turning white.  
Taiga wasn't supposed to spend time with her! Why was that idiot even avoiding him? He shouldn't be with Romilda!  
When he dropped his head against the mirror in front of him, he didn't understand the world anymore. Daiki had never been jealous before, but even more important was of _who_ he was jealous.

Taiga or Romilda?

That shouldn't even be a question, but the rage he felt when he saw the two together wasn't just coming from the fact that Romilda wasn't interested in Daiki. He also couldn't accept losing Taiga to her.  
But why?  
The mirror made a screeching sound when Daiki's head began slowly sinking down.

Romilda was beautiful. That was true for sure. She had a nice body and even nicer boobs. But in contrary to Taiga, Daiki didn't know Romilda, he didn't know her personality, her preferences in food, her hobbies, and if he was honest, he didn't want to know all of that.  
Taiga was beautiful in the same way, but also in another way. He had a handsome face, a nice skin colour and gentle warm hands. But there was more about him than his physical appearance. His goddamn smile, the amount of emotions he could show with his eyes, the way they teased each other.

And without even realizing it, Daiki had already thought much more about Taiga than about Romilda. And that was a problem because Daiki was _not_ gay for fuck's sake! He loved boobs and Taiga definitely was not an owner of a pair of tits. Instead Daiki remembered the flexing back muscles of the redhead when he'd spread the salve on him after the practice match. He also remembered his impressive arms and stomach, and though Daiki was about an inch taller than the other and knew that his body looked kind of similar, he had to admit that Taiga was the bulkier of the two.   
But would Daiki also be able to like the body of a guy as much as Romilda's? In his thoughts it was a clear no, but he was uncertain. Especially when his heart began beating faster when he thought about Taiga.

Romilda or Taiga?

Daiki needed a distraction. If he remembered right, the Room of Requirement shouldn't be far away from here. Right, he'd go there to get a few porn mags, the old ones he had already got boring. At least he had something to do now, and with Mai-chan he'd make sure that he'd still prefer Romilda's body over Taiga's.

With that thought in mind, he made his way out of the bathroom, into the corridor with the tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy.   
But right before Daiki reached the hidden door, it suddenly opened from the inside. And once again, Daiki was surprised and confused at the same time because out of it came no one other than Taiga, the person he wanted to see the last right now. It was almost like last Friday where Daiki had waited for the redhead to come out of the secret room to demand an explanation. He'd told him he went there to hide a book, but he was sure now that Taiga had lied to him. So there still seemed to be something the redhead wouldn't tell him.

"Hiding another book?" Daiki growled, deciding to confront him. Like last time, Taiga turned around startled. It looked like he was thinking about running away, but after a few seconds he decided to respond.

"I... I was..."

"Searching the toilets? Yeah, right, what else would it be," Daiki scowled.

"Daiki, listen, I'm sorry I avoided you the past days, but I was just..." That helpless look wouldn't save him this time.

"Oh, so you're apologizing for that now?! How funny, really funny!" he barked.

"Why won't you just tell me what you're doing in there?!"   
When Taiga kept quiet and looked to the side, Daiki turned around in frustration.

"Fine," he spitted, walking away from him, disappointed that the redhead still didn't trust him.

"Wait! Daiki, please!" He heard Taiga running after him, but he continued walking. He hoped the group of Hufflepuffs coming out of the room across the two would cause Taiga to lose his track, but he remained obstinate.

"Daiki, wait!" he shouted again and grabbed his shoulder and when he finally faced the other, Daiki knew if he opens his mouth now, nasty words would come out of it.

"Why are you even here?" he asked, glaring at him.

"Huh?" Taiga looked at him as if he wasn't understanding.

"Why are you even at Hogwarts? Did someone send you here? Maybe... Voldemort?"  
Daiki heard how the Hufflepuffs that were walking down the stairs stopped chattering.

"No! Why would you-..."

"Why would I think something like that?! Maybe because you're disappearing way too often in the Room of Requirement? Maybe because you're lying to me and not telling me what's up with you? And maybe... maybe because your parents were fucking death eaters!" he shouted, his voice reaching a volume where not only Taiga was able to hear his words. Said one stared at him in shock, not even doing anything when the Hufflepuffs began whispering and hurrying to get down the stairs.

"Why... are you saying such things?" Taiga rasped, still staring at him.

"I'm just wondering..." Daiki hissed, continuing to walk and entering the bathroom again for them to be alone.

"if you're really my friend. Snape said you could be a spy and if you're here to befriend me to extradite me to Voldemort, I should do something against it." His voice turned cold and the next second, he was directing his wand at Taiga whose eyes were even wider than before, the look on his face terrified.

"But... why are you thinking something like that? Why are you like that? What the fuck is wrong with you?!" His voice was trembling, getting louder with every word, causing him to yell the last sentence right into Daiki's face.

"You're asking what's wrong with me?!" he laughed bitterly.

"I'll ask you one last time, shithead. What were you doing in the Room of Requirement?"  
When Taiga did nothing than to hiss angrily, Daiki continued shouting.

"So you still won't answer me, huh?! Does that mean I'm right? Were you sent here by Voldemort? Perhaps you're also a death eater..."   
With every word, Taiga's face darkened more.

"Shut the fuck up!!" he then snarled, baring his teeth.

"What? Because it's true?!"

"It's not true!! Daiki, what the hell are you talking about?! Stop it, it's not true!!" the redhead roared, fury flashing in his eyes.

"And? Am I supposed to believe you now?! It doesn't seem hard for you to lie to me, so why should I even take _one_ word serious?!" Daiki yelled madly.

"You should! You definitely should, I thought we were friends! Is it really that difficult to trust me??"

"Obviously yes, asshole! You even knew I like Romilda and now you're sucking face with her in front of everyone's eyes! What kind of friend would you be?!" He watched somehow satisfied how Taiga looked at him surprised.

"So this is about Romilda now?! I can tell you what, she wanted my help because her fucking cat got stuck under a wardrobe. And before she even thanked me, she kissed me all of a sudden, and I swear I wasn't able to do anything! I even pushed her away afterwards because I'm not interested in her and I know you are! But now that I think about it, you wouldn't deserve her by using such a low trick as a love potion. You're really pitiable, Daiki."

Daiki felt how his blood began boiling. Taiga seemed to be the same, he was glaring at him with such intensity Daiki didn't know from him.

"So that's the reason you were ignoring me? Because you ate the fucking chocolates and almost raped me?!" he growled, anger clouding his mind.

"And whose fault was it?! Just to remind you, I almost committed suicide because of you, you fucking prick! I've had much more to think about than you, okay?! What would you have done if I really jumped?"

"Nothing, you asshole," Daiki snarled, the words just flowing out of his mouth.

"How nice of you," Taiga responded sarcastically, looking like he was ready to jump the other's throat every second.

"Well, I'm not as good as you in playing the nice guy."

"Do you have a death wish?!" Taiga growled and suddenly approached him. And Daiki did the only thing coming to his mind. He wanted to hurt Taiga, and not only with words. He also did it out of curiosity, it was the perfect situation. The best chance to hurt him really, really bad. And with his mind filled with rage, Daiki didn't think twice about it.

"Sectumsempra!"


	11. Sectumsempra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter of sadness.

"Sectumsempra!"

In no way Daiki would have ever predicted what came next. He should've at least considered it. What did he even expect from a spell that was meant for enemies? But still, when he realized what was happening right in front of his eyes, he was shocked to no ends.

It almost happened in slow motion. He watched how Taiga's eyes went impossibly wide when the white flash emerging from Daiki's wand hit him. The next moment blood was spurting from Taiga's body, his chest, his arms, his legs, even his face. Not a millisecond later his mouth was wide open, out of it coming such a tortured and pained scream, Daiki would've covered his ears if he were able to do so.

Taiga's scream became louder and louder while he watched how his own body got lacerated by the spell as if he was slashed by an invisible sword. He screamed and screamed, the curse cutting through his clothes, through his skin, through his flesh. The wounds were deep and gaping, and there was so much blood.  
Daiki's eyes began stinging, he wasn't able to blink nor look away, he wasn't able to do anything. He could just stand there and watch in horror what he'd done. The only thing he felt was his heart beating at its fastest, hammering against his chest.

Taiga screamed to the point where his voice broke down, caused by the blood running over his whole face, flowing into his mouth. The veins in his eyes bursted, making the white vanish. His tears got replaced by blood streaming down his cheeks. Suddenly his knees gave in, the cuts preventing him from keeping his balance, making his whole body going limp.

Only when Daiki saw him falling, followed by the ugly sound of a body hitting the waterlogged floor, he was able to break away from his rigid.

"Taiga!!" he wanted to shout, but his voice was giving in as he plunged towards the other, almost slipping on the water that was now mixed with blood.

"Taiga!" he managed to pant as he got down on his knees, not knowing what to do. The body in front of Daiki began twitching heavily as if he had a seizure, blood continuing to emit from him, slowly forming a gigantic red puddle around them. It even reached Daiki's trousers, but he couldn't care less.

"Oh God, oh God!!" he stuttered, carefully touching Taiga's face which was shining red, his eyelids fluttering.

"Taiga, come on!" Daiki rasped, grabbing the bleeding boy by his shoulders and lifting him up into his arms. The blood began soaking into his own cape, and Taiga almost slipped out of his red hands.

"I... I didn't... I didn't want that..." His breathing quickened when he stroke the redhead's hair that was sticking to his skin out of his face.

"Shit... Taiga..." Daiki felt how his own eyes began watering.  
Taiga was dying. Right in his arms. And he didn't know what to do.

"Taiga... I... I'm sorry, come on! You can't die... please!!" Daiki hold him closer, not bothering about the blood. Why didn't he know any healing spells?! What was he supposed to do now?! Should he leave Taiga to get help? No, that would take to long, Daiki felt sick by just thinking about the redhead laying dead on the cold bathroom floor when he'd come back.  
But what else could he do?!  
Just wait here?! Taiga would bleed to death! Daiki's mind stopped working. He just sat there with the redhead in his arms, the usually so lively eyes dull and filled with blood.  
He'd killed him.  
He'd killed his friend.

Suddenly he heard fast steps approaching the two. Someone was entering the bathroom! Daiki looked up  in hope, just to see Snape rushing towards them, his expression mixed between shock and fury.

"What have you done, Aomine?!" he yelled at him, quickly bending down to inspect Taiga's body that was still bleeding.

"Leave! Now! Wait for me outside and don't you dare running away!" Snape's harsh words along with his angry face caused Daiki to lay Taiga down carefully and exit the bathroom as quick as possible. He still heard how Snape began mumbling some weird spell that almost sounded like a song.

When Daiki was in the corridor again, he let himself sink to the ground, his head falling against the wall with a loud thud. To his surprise it didn't hurt as much as it should. He looked down at his shaking hands, covered in blood.

What had he done...?  
Daiki stared blankly at the wall across from him. His lips began quivering as he squeezed his eyes together painfully, blood still dripping from his hands and cape.  
What had he done?!  
He was scared. He was scared so much, he wasn't able to think clearly. What if Snape couldn't help Taiga? That would mean Daiki killed him. And he would've if Snape hadn't shown up. But even worse, if Taiga woke up, he would hate him. Forever.  
Because there was no excuse to what Daiki had done. He had to face the consequences. If he was lucky, Taiga would only beat him up if he ever was going to recover. He'd probably act like Daiki didn't exist afterwards. And Daiki hated himself for thinking like that, like he could do nothing. But it was true, he really couldn't.

It was never going to be like before, they could never laugh together again, never tease each other, and Daiki would also never be able to tell Taiga how he felt about him. He could never tell him how beautiful he was. Daiki would've done everything to get a Time-Turner now, but he knew it was useless. He wasn't able to turn the time back.

Snape suddenly came out of the bathroom with Taiga hanging over his shoulder. Daiki noticed in relief that the redhead was conscious again, though he had to be supported by Snape and was limping heavily. It seemed like he didn't even notice Daiki when Snape turned to him, warning him sharply not to leave. Taiga's eyes stared into nowhere, his face completely blank. At least his wounds were closed and not bleeding anymore, but they were still visible on his whole body. Daiki just hoped Madam Pomfrey could let the scars that definitely hurt vanish completely. He watched how Snape brought Taiga away, presumably to the hospital wing, and Daiki feared the moment he'd come back.

When he did, he was glaring at him, his eyes darker than ever.

"Empty your bag, Aomine," he demanded, and Daiki was very relieved that he knew the book of the Half-Blood Prince was well hidden under his bed. Snape would never find out where he got the spell from.

"That's not all of the books, where's the rest?" the professor asked him coldly, causing Daiki to shiver a little.

"In the sleeping dorm..." he mumbled.

"Go and get them," Snape hissed and Daiki was on his way immediately. He probably wanted to see the Potions book, and that meant he had to know something. But in difference to before, Daiki wasn't as eager to solve the riddle of the Half-Blood Prince anymore. Instead were pictures of Taiga flooding his mind, who was covered in blood, laying on the floor. He felt so bad and guilty, Daiki was feeling sick. Not being able to concentrate on anything else, he got his remaining books and returned to Snape.  
The latter one pressed his lips together in a thin line when Daiki showed him his original Potions book, and since Snape couldn't know he'd found the other one in an old cabinet, he should be safe.

"Fine. That still gets you detention for the whole year, Aomine. Be grateful I'm not giving you harder punishment for using dark arts on a student," he spat and Daiki nodded quickly. When he made an attempt to go away, Snape grabbed him by the arm, his grip tightening.

"If you use that spell ever again, you're gone before you can even say goodbye to Hogwarts, got it?" Daiki nodded again, but the teacher still didn't let go.

"Did he attack you?" he asked, lowering his voice.

"Huh?" Daiki uttered confused.

"Did he try to kill you?" Snape repeated slowly, his voice trembling like always when he was upset.

"What..?" Daiki was even more bewildered. Why was Snape asking him this? Because he suspected that Taiga was a spy? Or did he know something Daiki didn't know about the redhead?

"Answer my question!" The professor shook him slightly.

"No... No, he... We got into a fight and it got out of control. He didn't do anything, it was my fault," Daiki finally responded, looking at the ground.

"Like always," Snape scoffed, letting him go.

"Go and wash the blood off you, Aomine." And with that, he left him standing in front of the bathroom where the floor still was bloodied.  
Daiki felt very tired all of a sudden. This probably was one of the worst days in his life. After a few minutes of just staring after Snape, he decided to clean himself and go to the Gryffindor common room to get new clothes.

When he entered the sleeping dorm, he sat down on his bed. He felt so empty that he didn't notice how the time flew by. Daiki just continued to stare on the wooden floor, shivering every time he remembered how Taiga's skin had bursted under the spell. He should go to the hospital wing to see if he was fine. He should've done that earlier already.

Daiki stood up and walked through the empty corridors down to the Great Hall. The abandoned stairs assured that most students were already eating dinner, but it still felt creepy for Daiki to walk through the empty school, especially at this moment.  
To his displeasure the door to the hospital wing was locked, meaning that Madam Pomfrey was working at her hardest. Since he couldn't do anything else, he decided to eat dinner with Satsuki and Tetsuya. Hopefully the two could cheer him up.

When Daiki entered the Great Hall, he immediately knew that something was different. As soon as the doors closed behind him, every gaze was directed at him and the students began whispering. It was almost like in his fourth year when the Goblet of Fire spat out his name.  
But Daiki somehow got the feeling that it was even worse. When he walked to the Gryffindor table, he noticed his two friends staring at him, but he wasn't able to read their expressions. Only when he wanted to sit down next to them, feeling way too awkward, Satsuki suddenly stood up abruptly.

"How..." Her lips began quivering in anger or disappointed, Daiki wasn't sure.

"How could you?!" she then yelled, looking so furious that Daiki flinched. He also couldn't predict the next thing happening. Satsuki reached back and slapped his cheek with full power, causing Daiki to stumble backwards and cover his stinging face.

"How the hell could you do this?!" she shouted again, tears dwelling up in her eyes.

"He's our friend and you almost killed him!! You're the worst, Daiki!! Leave before I'm going to cut off your head!!" Her voice got shrill towards the end, making it able for everyone to hear their conversation.  
Daiki did like Satsuki wanted. It was better not to argue with her when she was angry. Before he retreated, he saw Tetsuya staring at him, and he could see clearly that he was disappointed. When the short wizard noticed that he was looking at him, he shook his head a few times before averting his gaze.

"Fuck!!" Daiki yelled, kicking against the wall next to his bed. His foot hurt like hell, but it didn't matter to him. He continued screaming and punching the wall until he fell back on his bed in exhaustment.  
Everyone knew what he'd done to Taiga. Probably because they'd fought in public and not half an hour later Snape nearly had to carry the redhead down to the hospital wing, leaving a trail of blood behind them. And rumors were spreading really quick in Hogwarts.

Though he was alone, the empty bed next to him made him feel even worse.  
Before Daiki could regret his decision, he stood up and crawled into Taiga's bed, wrapping the other's blanket around him tightly. When his face connected with the pillow, he inhaled its scent deeply. It smelled so much like the redhead, Daiki could imagine he was laying right next to him, maybe hugging him from behind. He hid his head under the blanket. Never would he have thought how nice it was to be surrounded by Taiga's scent which somehow managed to calm him down. But the warm feeling vanished when he realized that Taiga would hate him for now, and that he'd never have the chance to touch him again. He just gave in to his feelings this time, finally admitting how much he liked it every time their hands occasionally brushed or when they'd throw their arms over each other's shoulders.

It was impossible for Daiki to sleep that night. When the others returned from dinner, they didn't say anything about him sleeping in Taiga's bed. Not a word.  
It also was out of question that Satsuki's planned trip to the library got canceled tonight.

The next morning Daiki was alone again. No one had bothered to wake him up, but it was Saturday, so it was okay. He suddenly remembered the quidditch game which made his head shoot up and hit the bed post, but then he also recalled how Madam Hooch had canceled his first official match and he fell back into Taiga's pillow.

Gryffindor definitely could forget the quidditch cup this year. Without Taiga or Daiki on the team, they had no chance against Ravenclaw's elite player Midorima who just shot the Quaffle into the rings from every position. Adding to that were Takao, Riko, Imayoshi and Kasamatsu who he knew from were thousand times better than that idiot Wakamatsu or Furihata. The game was lost already, so Daiki didn't bother watching it. Who knew who they put in as Chasers, probably those noobs Miyaji and Fukuda.  
Daiki usually never watched a game where he wasn't playing. He knew people hated him for it, but he didn't care. And right now, he really couldn't care less. He wasn't in the mood for quidditch, so even if he'd been allowed to play, he would have probably slugged around.

Like yesterday evening, the castle was almost empty, this time because of the match. The few students he spotted quickly avoided him as soon as they saw him coming their way.  
Daiki wasn't even realizing that he was hungry after he had to skip dinner last night, he just wanted to see Taiga right now.

In difference to yesterday, he could enter the hospital wing without problems. Of course Madam Pomfrey looked up when he walked in, and he already feared her scolding.

"Oh, Daiki-chan, why? How could you hurt your poor cutie like that?" She looked at him sadly, but didn't scream at him like Daiki thought.

"I... It was an accident..." he muttered, the events from yesterday dwelling up inside him again, Taiga laying on the floor, his eyes wide open, Satsuki hitting him in the face, and Tetsuya shaking his head.

"I didn't want that, I was just..." He couldn't go any further when the tension inside him suddenly broke and he cried, really cried for the first time.

"Daiki-chan..." Madam Pomfrey wore a surprised expression.

"He is going to hate me," Daiki sobbed, quickly covering his face with his hands.

"Everyone hates me!" he added and suddenly felt arms embracing him.

"Oh, Daiki-chan, you're such a troublesome boy. I'm sure it's gonna be okay, I don't hate you, you know? That you're here means you're caring a lot for him," she tried comforting him, but Daiki wasn't convinced.

"How can Taiga ever forgive me?" he asked bitterly, not able to stop the tears from streaming down his face.

"He will, don't worry. It wasn't your intention to hurt him like that, and since you're regretting it so much he can't stay mad at you for long, alright?" Madam Pomfrey patted his head.

"Thank you," Daiki muttered, wiping his eyes with his arm.

"I'm just happy to hear you haven't wanted this to happen to him," she smiled.

"Follow me. He's sleeping right now and usually you wouldn't be allowed to see him while he's recovering, but I'll make an exception for you." Madam Pomfrey winked and walked ahead to the last bed of the left row.

As soon as she put the curtains aside, Daiki rushed towards the sleeping person in the bed. He kneeled down next to Taiga, looking at his face.

"He's so pale..." he whispered concerned, absently stroking his cheek. His face really was as white as a sheet of paper, the redhead almost looked like a corpse. Daiki shivered.

"Your cutie is as troublesome as you, Daiki-chan. He has many secrets, has he..." Madam Pomfrey sighed and Daiki nodded.

"I know he's not told all of them to you, but give him time, will you?" she asked, leaving him stunned for a second.

"How do you know...?"  
She only smiled at him, seeming like she didn't want to answer that question.

"I'll get you a chair," Madam Pomfrey informed him, leaving him alone for a short moment.  
Daiki took Taiga's hand that was hanging beside the bed. He didn't even have to take a closer look to see the scars. Thin, red lines that were covering his skin in irregular distances. He laced their fingers together, just to notice how cold Taiga's hand was. Ice cold.

"I managed to heal the wounds on his face, but I'm not able to do more for him. Healing injuries caused by a black curse is very difficult and can only be reversed completely by the curse's anti-spell which also belongs to the dark arts." Madam Pomfrey was back, placing the chair next to him, her expression sad again.  
Daiki didn't say anything, Taiga's peaceful face absorbing his thoughts. When his knees began hurting, he finally sat down on the chair, not letting go of the redhead's hand.  
Daiki leaned forward to touch his hair, carefully letting the red strands slide through his fingers.

"You love him, do you?" Madam Pomfrey suddenly asked and Daiki freezed, hesitating for a moment.

"Yeah, I do," he then admitted quietly, his voice nothing more than a mere whisper as he continued to let his hand run over Taiga's soft, but cold skin. His breathing was slow, but regular and it had a calming effect on Daiki.

"You can stay as long as you like."  
He heard how Madam Pomfrey walked away and closed the curtains behind her. It almost felt like Daiki was completely alone with Taiga.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." he whispered, and in the moment of guilt he brought Taiga's limp hand up to his face, gently placing his lips on the other's white knuckles.

"I'm sorry I did this to you." Daiki put the hand on Taiga's chest where it remained under his own before he cupped his face.

"I... I really... like you..." he confessed with the knowledge that Taiga couldn't hear him, but it was better like that. He didn't want him to hate him even more after he woke up.

Not knowing what to say after that, his face already glowing red, Daiki dared to bend down, quickly kissing Taiga's forehead.  
He stayed the whole time. Like in time lapse, the surrounding changed around him, the curtains vanishing, different people walking in and out of the hospital wing to look after their friends, or mostly to watch him with Taiga from distance. When Daiki heard the chattering crowd outside, he knew the quidditch match was over. And not a second later Satsuki and Tetsuya entered the hospital wing. Daiki quickly pretended like he hadn't seen them, continuing to stare at Taiga's face like before. His two friends said nothing when they joined him, making it unable for Daiki to know what they were thinking.

"You were here the whole morning, right?" Tetsuya suddenly asked him quietly without looking at him. Daiki just nodded. Satsuki suddenly put out her wand, letting flowers arise from it which she placed in a vase next to the hospital bed. She then sighed and Daiki was surprised when she laid her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I hurt you yesterday, Dai-chan. But what you did was so stupid! And so irresponsible!! Where did you even get a spell like that from?!" Without Satsuki realizing it, her voice got a little too loud for a hospital wing.

"I'm sorry..." Daiki just mumbled probably the tenth time this day already.

"I hope you're regretting this really bad!" she scolded him before her voice got quiet and sad again.

"Please say you're regretting this."

"I am," he answered tiredly, closing his eyes for a second.

"I really am."

Daiki wanted to be alone. He knew from Madam Pomfrey that Taiga would wake up soon, presumably in the afternoon, and he didn't want to be there when it happened. He didn't want to see his peaceful sleeping face morphing into a scowl as soon as he would spot Daiki. He also knew that his other friends hadn't forgiven him completely. Like Madam Pomfrey they were probably glad he rued hurting Taiga, but still... What he'd done was wrong in all ways.

Like always when Daiki wanted to be alone, he went to the secret balcony on the sixth floor to stare at Hogwarts' grounds. But luck seemed to have left him again. When he turned around the corner of another long corridor, his shoulder suddenly connected with someone else's.  
And of all people it was Haizaki he'd bumped into.

"Watch where you're walking, dead boy," he sneered, and again he had Hanamiya and Seto following him, along with Mibuchi this time.

"As long as I'm not as dead as your brain, I should be fine," Daiki fired back, too emotionally devasted to deal with his shit right now.

"Don't be stupid. You sure know I'm smarter than you which is nothing to be proud of. I'm rather concerned about your red haired puppy that you suddenly got rid off..."

"Shut up!" Daiki growled, wanting to leave, but Haizaki stopped him.

"That freak really had to be annoying if you wanted to kill him that brutally," he laughed.

"It was a fucking accident, alright?" Daiki snapped.

"Yeah, you _accidently_ used a deadly spell on him, that sounds believable," he scoffed, still smirking.

"I hope not all of your few friends end up like that. I have to say I'm really glad I'm not one of them."

"You know what? Suck my dick, you fuckface!!" Daiki yelled angrily, but to his displeasure Haizaki remained cool, laughing at him even more.

"No, thanks. I'm out of your league. You can ask your dog if he ever gets out of the hospital wing. I bet he'd gladly do it, but now that I'm thinking twice about it... He's rather going to bite it off, I guess," he shrugged, grinning at him disgustingly, clearly enjoying how much he could rile Daiki up.

"I swear, one more word and..."

"And what? You're not really in a good position to threaten someone. I better be off," Haizaki laughed his ugly laugh once again before finally leaving him alone.

"I wish you a nice day, Aomine." He patted his shoulder sarcastically and retreated his hand quickly before Daiki could slap it away.

Today he really did nothing more than to sit on the balcony, observing the sun slowly going down. Daiki's stomach was protesting really badly by that time, he still hadn't eaten anything. Sometimes he wondered why he was a wizard if he couldn't even afford summoning food. He groaned loudly. That was his worst weekend ever.

The stones he sat on felt cold, it was like back then when Taiga had followed him after he'd punched Haizaki in the face. Daiki wished it could be like that again. That the redhead would just appear behind him and join him on the balcony. But he knew that wasn't going to happen.

He finally decided to go to the kitchens, not wanting to collapse because he didn't eat enough. He'd just avoid the hospital wing and try to avoid Taiga as well, he was not ready to face him yet. When Daiki got down and passed the Great Hall to enter the corridor that lead to the kitchens, he saw the redhead sitting with Satsuki and Tetsuya at the table.  
Shit, so he already woke up.  
Daiki moved faster, exhaling in relief when Taiga didn't seem to notice him.

In the corridor he searched for the picture with the pear which he tickled to let it form into the door handle. Like always, the kitchens were full of House-elves. And it also didn't need long for Dobby to spot him.

"Daiki Aomine!! You're back, sir!" The little creature jumped up and down in joy, but then suddenly slumped together, looking nervous.

"Daiki Aomine shouldn't use dark spells," he then whispered as if everyone didn't know already what he'd done.

"I know..." And of course he felt guilty again.

"Dobby heard that Daiki Aomine had a fight with the Durmstrang wizard! Dobby is really happy to hear that nothing happened to you, sir! But Dobby doesn't like it that Daiki Aomine and he are friends." He shook his small head to clarify his words.

"Huh? Why not?" Daiki asked. Dobby looked around before giving him a sign to bend down.

"Daiki Aomine should stay away from the Durmstrang wizard. He's not what he seems to be," he whispered into his ear, but Daiki was only more confused. Something really was wrong here. First Snape, now Dobby?

"What do you mean by that?" Maybe he'd get answers now. Answers about Taiga. Dobby shortly squinted his eyes before looking around warily once more.

"He wants to be on the right side, but he can't. It's not important how much he wants to be good, he can and will never be. He shouldn't exist."

Those words caused even more questions to come up in Daiki's head. What the heck was Dobby talking about?! He was just about to ask exactly that when suddenly a few high-pitched screams made by House-elves interrupted them, followed by the sound of a chair that had fallen to the ground, along with someone sitting on it.

"Oh no, it's Winky again! Dobby has to hurry, she drunk too much Butterbeer. Dobby has to stop her from drinking immediately!" He rushed away, but stopped in the middle to stumble back.

"If Daiki Aomine wants something to eat, he can grab a few sandwiches that were already prepared for him. Dobby will see you soon again, sir."  
And before Daiki could say another word or hold Dobby back to get answers out of him, the small Elf vanished in the crowd of other House-elves surrounding Winky. And since Daiki knew how complicated Winky was, or rather how complicated it was to calm her down, he could also leave.

Against his assumption, his mood didn't improve when he bit into the first sandwich. There were just too much questions, too much Daiki had to think about. He would have to encounter Taiga sooner or later and he didn't know how he should prepare himself for that. But the things Dobby said really bothered him.  
What was meant by him wanting to be on the right side, but he couldn't?

Why shouldn't Taiga exist?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just noticed I missed Kagami's birthday. I should be damned.


	12. Faults

Daiki knew he had to confront Taiga, the sooner, the better. But it was going to be difficult. What should he say to him? Should he try apologizing? Would Taiga even want to talk with him?

He decided to firstly observe the redhead. Daiki followed him without being noticed, at least he hoped so.   
To his surprise, he found out that the students were avoiding Taiga like him. He furrowed his eyebrows, hiding behind a gargoyle when the redhead looked at his direction. Daiki also noticed a slight change in the redhead's behavior. For example when he was interacting with the few people that were talking to him, mostly Tetsuya and Satsuki, sometimes Furihata (though Daiki had seen how he'd dropped his plate once again when Taiga had sat down next to him for lunch), he wasn't smiling. He also was pretty much silent during conversations which was weird for a loudmouth like him.

"Stop following me."   
Taiga had suddenly stopped in his tracks.  
Shit!!  
How had he been able to notice Daiki when he didn't even turn around? But even more important, what now?! Should he run?

"I know you're there, Aomine."

It was too late for a retreat, and Daiki was not a coward, so he finally revealed himself behind the gargoyle.  
Damn, what should he say? What was he _supposed t_ o say?

"H-hey, I'm glad you're fine again..."   
Woah, that sounded lame as hell.

"Oh, really?" Taiga sarcastically cocked one eyebrow, somehow staring down on him which shouldn't be possible due to the fact that Daiki was taller than him, but he felt so fucking small right now.

"I mean... I'm really sorry, I didn't know the spell would hurt you so much..." he tried, but knew it was almost like he spoke to a wall.

"So you're telling me you used the spell on me without even knowing its effect? I hope you know yourself that this doesn't make it one bit better, Aomine," he glared at him and Daiki slowly got the feeling that Taiga was pretty pissed, if he wasn't before already.

"I know! I know and that's why I'm apologizing! I... I was so angry back then, I couldn't really control myself!" Daiki quickly replied, trying to set on his most desperate look.

"Your lack of self-control isn't exactly my problem," Taiga growled, making a few steps in his direction.

"O-of course it's not! You have all rights to hate me after this, and I can't do anything else than to repeat I'm sorry!"

"I have all rights to hate you, huh? That's not a right, that's a naturalness."   
Daiki backed off a little, the furiousness in Taiga's eyes making him wanting to cower in the corner of the corridor.

"If you want to, you can even beat me up. We'd be quitt then..." he suggested quietly, looking around just to realize they were alone.

"You think we'd be quitt then? Interesting," Taiga laughed coldly, though there definitely was no amusement in his eyes. Daiki stumbled back startled when the other suddenly launched at him, his fingertips grazing his neck.   
He suddenly had the urge to just run away quickly because something inside him told him that Taiga was completely different, like an other person. To his shock, he had to realize that behind him was the wall and Taiga pretty much cornered him.

"First, you're shouting through the entire school that my parents were death eaters and then you almost killed me. Honestly, I'm surprised you even dare talking to me right now."

Shit! It was true, he _had_ shouted Taiga's secret for everyone to hear. That sure explained a lot, no wonder no one wanted to be close to him. And no wonder the other hated him even more now. He could never fix this again...  
Since there was no space to dodge anymore, Daiki could do nothing than to watch with wide eyes how Taiga's hand closed around his neck this time. It was that moment he realized he'd made a mistake in coming here.   
The hand was cold and when it suddenly began tightening its grip, Daiki was scared shitless.

"Tai...ga..." he rasped, every syllable hurting in his throat which got compressed.

"It hurt, you know? There hadn't been something more painful in my entire life," Taiga hissed, and Daiki was sure he was going to rip his head off when the redhead suddenly lifted him in the air, his back still against the wall. Why was Taiga so strong? It shouldn't be possible for him to lift Daiki up with one hand!

When he opened his mouth, he couldn't speak anymore. His hands were grasping Taiga's arm, trying desperately to free himself, but his body weakened quickly and it suddenly was really hard for him to get air. Daiki's jaw hurt like hell, along with the cold fingers almost drilling through his neck. His vision started to become blurry, and he realized in panic he was close to losing consciousness. When he looked at Taiga's face, his blood still managed to run cold despite his already fatal situation.   
Daiki knew Taiga would _never_ hurt someone like he did now. That just wasn't him! He was kind and forgave other people quickly, but now, that was someone else in front of him, suffocating him with a cold expression.   
But what Daiki disturbed most were his eyes, his red usually bright and happy eyes. Right now they seemed so inhuman, he was wondering if he was hallucinating in his last moments of consciousness.

Apparently, it shouldn't be his last moments. Since Daiki couldn't see clearly anymore, he didn't know who was showing up behind Taiga, but someone did.

"Let him go."  
The noises around him were dull and drowned by the high beeping tone in Daiki's ears, but he somehow recognized this voice.

"Now."

Not a second later, he felt how Taiga's hand loosened around his throat, letting him fall to the ground. Though he wasn't prepared for the impact, it didn't hurt as much as Daiki's lungs that were screaming for air. He saw how Taiga turned around to the person with a hiss. Daiki began coughing loudly, his head swirling and throbbing and he felt like his chest was about to burst. The only thing he saw was Taiga's back and the feet of the other person.

"You have a bad timing," Taiga snarled.

"I think I have a good one."  
Suddenly Daiki knew who it was. He could almost see Akashi's smile as he spoke those words.

"Now get away from Daiki, will you? I know you're angry at him, but that doesn't give you the right to strangle him." His voice sounded stern all of a sudden.

"Be careful what you're saying," Taiga just growled, lowering his stance, probably to prepare an attack.

"You rather should be careful what you're doing. You wouldn't want the whole school to find out about you, would you?" Akashi asked him, taking out his wand just in case.

"Find out what? Everyone already knows my parents were death eaters!" he yelled angrily.   
Daiki didn't know what happened next. He was so exhausted he had problems with keeping his eyes open, adding to that was his hurting body, his quick heartbeat. But despite that, he felt so tired and numb, he couldn't concentrate on the things around him anymore. He still heard Akashi and Taiga fighting, but it was faint and far away.

"I'm not talking about something boring like that..." Akashi sounded like he was about to threaten Taiga, but Daiki wasn't certain.

"You...!!"

"Tatsuya has told me some interesting things, so I'm having an eye on you and I'm not allowing you to hurt my friends!"

They should stop, Daiki thought before giving up to stay awake.

Everything should be like before.

He opened his eyes again when he was being lifted up. And damn, he had the world's worst headache! Daiki felt an arm supporting him, but his vision was still a bit blurry, so he could just guess.

"Tai..." He had to cough heavily after trying to say Taiga's name. Speaking felt so awful and it sounded like his lungs were squished.

"Save your voice, Daiki."  
That wasn't Taiga, but Akashi who helped him standing up.   
But where was Taiga then? How was he?

"Taiga... where," he managed to rasp out, his voice sounding pretty off.

"He's not your business anymore, Daiki, stop thinking about him," Akashi responded with a frown.

No! Daiki wanted to protest, but his voice was gone again. Shit, he had to get himself together now.

"Can you walk?" Akashi asked him and Daiki nodded before even trying it. But since he wasn't that easy to break, he got it after a bit of stumbling. He suddenly saw two other people rushing towards him.

"Dai-chan, what happened?!" was the first thing he heard. Satsuki of course.

"I think I can let Daiki to you two." Akashi smiled kindly before turning around.

"Keep away from him, Daiki."  
That sounded more like a warning, though.

"Daiki, what happened and where is Taiga?! I've seen him walking away from us and you were following him!" Tetsuya said a little louder than usual, looking concerned.  
Daiki managed to let out a bitter laugh, but he quickly stopped when it began hurting his throat.

"So I'm really that bad in following people...?" was everything he commented.

"Dai-chan, your voice!" Satsuki noticed, quickly taking out her wand.

"Yeah, it has been a bad idea to try talking with-..."

"Don't speak!" Satsuki commanded, directing the wand at him.

"Episkey!"

"Urgh!" It hurt a bit as the spell hit him, but the stinging pain in his chest and head vanished all at once.

"What the..." Tetsuya mumbled when he noticed the blue to purple and yellow fingerprints on Daiki's neck where Taiga had almost strangled him.

"Why'd he do something like that?!" Satsuki almost shrieked.

"Seems like he's pretty pissed. I mean, I've hurt him really bad, because of me the whole school thinks he's sent by Voldemort, and oh I almost forgot, I've ruined his first official quidditch match at Hogwarts!" Daiki sighed, hating himself for the things he'd done.

"Dai-chan..." Satsuki placed one hand on his shoulder in worry.

"I'm really happy I have you two," he muttered and found himself in a hug not a second later, and this time it wasn't just Satsuki, but Tetsuya too.

"Everything's gonna be fine, alright? We'll talk with Taiga," the short wizard promised and Satsuki nodded.

"Were laying in a few good words for you, Dai-chan. He _has_ to forgive you eventually!" she added.

"Thank you."

And that had been his Sunday, a really depressing one to be precise. Daiki skipped the Dueling club since it was better for him to rest and he wasn't in the mood for it anyways.  
Taiga wasn't there for dinner and Daiki failed to spot him afterwards. Satsuki and Tetsuya also didn't have a clue where he could be and figured he probably needed some time alone.

Daiki had refused to go to the hospital wing after Taiga had confronted him. He didn't want Madam Pomfrey to worry even more about him and he also didn't want her to think bad about Taiga.   
There was just this feeling of emptiness consuming Daiki every time he remembered the look in Taiga's eyes, filled with hate and disgust.

Daiki knew if he hadn't loved him, the whole situation would be much more indifferent to him. He wouldn't even make an effort to talk to Taiga again, he'd just shrug it off and concentrate on other things. But it wasn't this easy. It wasn't easy at all to love a person that hated him, and Daiki wanted nothing more than being forgiven.

He went to bed earlier, not knowing what to do else. There still wasn't a sign from Taiga, he noticed as he stared at the empty bed next to him.  
What if he was in the Room of Requirement again? He probably was, whatever he was doing there. Daiki didn't care about that anymore, he just wanted them to be friends again.

"Lumos," he mumbled, reaching out for the Marauder's map under his bed. When he opened it, he didn't even know why he was searching for Taiga's footprints.  
His surprise was even bigger when he actually found him.

He was outside.  
Alone.   
He wasn't moving, so he probably sat on the ground to stare at the sky or the Great Lake because that was exactly what Daiki would be doing if he'd be in Taiga's place.  
For one moment he considered walking down and joining him. But he knew the other wouldn't let him and Daiki didn't want more bruises on his already damaged neck. Also, he shouldn't be too persistent. Taiga needed time for himself and that was the only thing Daiki could do for him; leave him alone.

The next morning they had History of Magic. And again Taiga was nowhere to be seen at the Gryffindor table during breakfast.

"I hope he's eating properly," Satsuki mentioned, causing Daiki to worry about the redhead.   
At least he was there for professor Binns' lesson. He was still sitting next to Daiki, but every time he gazed at him, he just saw a petrified expression on his face, his stare seeming to go through the wall. And his eyes were still different.  
They didn't talk once the whole day, even when Daiki tried approaching him, he just received a warning glare and had to back off again.

"Hey, Taiga," Satsuki nervously cleared her throat and tugged at his cape. And even though she'd done nothing to him, he turned around with a scowl.

"Yeah?" he grunted, his eyes wandering to Daiki for a second who quickly looked away. He didn't like those eyes at all.

"I just wanted to ask you if we could go for a short walk around the Great Lake after the three of you had Divination. Just the two of us, alright?" She looked at him with pleading eyes, but Taiga seemed immune to it and just furrowed his brows.

"Fine, if it's that important to you...   
I don't have something better to do anyways," he then avoided her gaze, staring into space like before. Daiki really hoped Satsuki would achieve something while talking to him. Maybe this was just the right thing.

Divination was boring as always, except the beginning where everyone had to climb up the ladder. Just when Taiga was about to enter the tiny room, professor Trelawny rushed towards the hatch and quickly closed it, letting it almost fall on his head.

"No, no, no, not you!" she shouted dramatically as always, leaving the students with a frown. Whatever it was the oversized bat had against Taiga, it had to be something that she feared.  
Professor Trelawny and a few others jumped startled when they heard a loud thump underneath them, the hatch's lock rattling, confirming that Taiga had punched it in fury.

"You mind finally telling me what the purpose of this is?"  
They were outside of the castle, Divination was over and the sun was burning down on them, causing Daiki to began sweating under his invisibility cloak. Satsuki had suggested earlier that he should follow her and Taiga when they'd go for the walk while Tetsuya remained inside to pretend hanging up with Daiki.  
Nice plan, but if Taiga caught him, he'd be even more angry. So he had to be quiet and just listen to what they'd say.

"I know you have a hard time, Taiga, especially with Dai-chan, but we just want you to be happy again!" Satsuki responded and when he glanced at Taiga, Daiki noticed from his position he looked almost sad.

"Thank you, Satsuki, but I guess I just need time," he muttered, kicking a few pebbles off the trail.

"You... don't really hate him, do you...?" she asked carefully.

"I... I don't know..."   
Daiki was walking next to Satsuki, unseen of course, but he also noticed how the redhead began scowling.

"I thought he was a good friend, but turns out he isn't. I guess I'm more disappointed in him," he muttered.

"But isn't that a sign you still like him?" Satsuki asked quietly. Taiga laughed shortly before answering, it sounded forced and somehow sad.

"How should that be a sign? How can I not hate him for what he did to me? I just wish that all of this hadn't happened and that it would be like before! I... I dare to even say he was the best friend I ever had, but now..." he sighed, stressed out.

"Dai-chan feels really bad you know? He wants to make up with you, and he's really sorry!" Satsuki grabbed his hand.

"Please, Taiga..."

"So you want me to just forget all of this?" The glare returned.

"You want me to pretend like I can trust him and everything's fine again?" He pulled his hand away.

"No! No, I know you can't forget this! I just... want you to talk with him and hear him out, alright?" she tried to let her voice sound as gentle as possible.

"Listen Satsuki, I know Daiki probably sent you to tell me all of this, but I'm not gonna speak to him. He can't repair what he'd done, and I'm really not in the mood to interact with someone who almost let me bleed to death!" he responded sternly, his steps fastening.

"You're stubborn! Don't forget it was you who was quick to strangle him when he just wanted to apologize!" Satsuki suddenly snapped, causing Taiga to turn around abruptly.

"What the fuck is an apology even good for?! And he's not the only one who is frustrated, alright? This has been just a really bad moment to approach me! It's not like I'm going around strangling people!!" he yelled.

"Yeah, and it's also not like Dai-chan is going around using weird spells on others!" she countered, her voice's volume raising, and Daiki had to resist the urge to cover his ears.

"I had a reason! He did not!!"

"He was upset because he cares for you! Why won't you understand that??"

"Oh yeah, what a nice way in showing that he _cares_ for me!"

"I know Dai-chan is stupid! He's so stupid, I could rip his head off most of the times! And he has a bad temper, he's hotheaded just like you! He takes the wrong turns sometimes, but if he cares for something, it's his friends!! And you're one of his closest! Dai-chan is regretting so much what he's done, did you know he'd sat next to your hospital bed for hours without eating or getting sleep?! He'd been there the whole time!" she shouted right at his face, looking so determined Daiki admired her for a moment.

"He... he did...?" Taiga seemed startled for a second, blinking a few times before his face darkened again.

"Damnit!" he hissed, placing his hand against his forehead, stroking his hair back in frustration.

"Damn this fucking shit!!" he yelled, kicking the floor with so much power, dust was coming off the ground, creating a small cloud around them.

"First he accuses me of being one of Voldemort's followers, just to sit next to my fucking hospital bed not a day later!! I fucking don't understand him!! Why can't I just hate him for that?! But instead his stupid face keeps appearing in my mind the whole time! I don't want to think about him anymore, but I can't stop it! I just can't, you understand!?"   
Daiki had never heard him shouting that loudly before, he was almost screaming, his eyes reddened and glassy, his voice hitching at some point.

"Taiga..." Satsuki mumbled quietly.

"I don't know what to do..." The redhead suddenly began sobbing, a sight that was breaking Daiki's heart. He realized Taiga was just like him, twisted. For Daiki it had been the decision between Taiga and Romilda what made him letting his frustration out on him. For Taiga it was the fact he wanted to hate him, but he couldn't due to some part inside him that still liked him and refused to let go of him. Just like him he was frustrated, causing him to hurt Daiki back.  
And both of them had cried.

"Shh, it's alright, let's sort this out, okay?" Satsuki stroked his back soothingly after squatting down next to him when Taiga suddenly sank to the ground, ruffling through his hair.

It would have probably went well. Satsuki would've been able to calm him down, to get him to talk with Daiki, to fix this whole situation without more complications.  
It would have, if there hadn't been the dust Taiga had kicked off the ground earlier.

"What the..." he muttered silently when he fortuitously looked up, his eyes piercing right through Daiki's. The latter one knew he'd fucked up when he noticed that dust was sticking to his invisibility cloak, making him painfully visible.  
Fuck!!  
For Taiga it looked like sand hovering in the air, but the outlines of the lower parts of Daiki's legs should be seeable. Should he try running away and deny the fact he'd been listening the whole time? But the redhead already knew something was wrong.

How a depressed facial expression could morph into a furious one this quickly was a riddle for Daiki. Taiga stood up with immense speed, harshly swinging his hand through the air to get a grasp of Daiki's invisibility cloak. Of course he succeeded, and Daiki was standing right in front of him the next moment, knowing this was the end.  
Taiga hauled the cloak away with such force, it landed in the bushes more than a few meters away from them.

"Just leave..." the redhead hissed, his teeth pressed together tightly, Daiki could see his jaw muscles working. His whole body tensed up all of a sudden.

"Both of you, before I'm going to do some ugly things..." he continued, clasping his hands together at his sides spasmodically, trying to hold back at every cost.  
Satsuki grabbed Daiki's arm.

"Come on," she whispered quietly before turning to Taiga one last time.

"Sorry..." she mumbled, quickly walking away afterwards, pulling Daiki with her.

Daiki had a bad dream that night. The events happening during daylight even haunted him in sleep, just worse. He was running through Hogwarts, but it was dark and no one was there. The torches at the wall weren't burning anymore and no light came through the windows, no stars could be seen at the sky, not even the moon. Daiki felt like he was running for hours already. Someone was following him, and he knew it was Taiga. It rather was all of his guilt hunting him in Taiga's form, but it was almost the same.   
He was faster than him and Daiki's instincts were telling him something bad would happen if he caught up.

But there was no way out of it, no place to hide, it had to happen.   
It was when Daiki felt a cold breath on his nape and two arms that suddenly looped around his body, squeezing the air out of him and making him fall. When he turned on his back, his chest aching from the impact, Taiga was hovering right over him, so close their noses were almost touching. He was so pale, his skin was white as snow and his eyes were glowing, wearing the same look Daiki saw when he'd stared at him as he'd pressed him against the wall.  
And again Taiga's hands found their way to Daiki's throat, squeezing the sensitive skin. Daiki could do nothing than to watch.

"It hurt, you know? There hadn't been something more painful in my entire life." Though it had been nothing more than a hissed whisper, those were exactly Taiga's words from Sunday. Daiki's heart skipped a beat before pounding wildly when he stared at Taiga whose skin suddenly bursted, just like in the bathroom. The wounds opened again, causing blood to run over his whole body, dropping down on Daiki. But instead of screaming in agony, Taiga just continued to stare at him quietly, not moving one inch when the blood began running down his whole body. He didn't even blink as the red liquid flooded his face, he let his eyes opened until they were filled with blood.

It was too much. The blood transformed into a whole river, then into a mer and Daiki found himself drowning inside it shortly after. He couldn't breathe anymore and Taiga was nowhere to be seen. When he opened his mouth in one last attempt to get air, the blood was flooding into his mouth, filling his lungs.  
That was the moment when Daiki woke up, bathed in sweat, panting heavily.

A dream. It just had been a nightmare. He felt how his heart slowed down after recognizing his surroundings, seeing Taiga laying in his bed intact. Daiki exhaled in relief. There'd never been a moment before where Wakamatsu's snoring had such a calming effect on him.

He woke up a second time that night. The cause wasn't a bad dream, he rather had the feeling that something had touched him. Daiki blinked confused, there had been something on his cheek what woke him up, definitely! Maybe a small breeze from outside? But when he looked at the window, he noticed it was closed. Had he just imagined it? Daiki sat up in his bed, looking around. It was so dark he couldn't see his hand in front of his eyes, but he felt like someone was observing him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see something in the dark room, but of course he failed. After five minutes, he was sure that he'd imagined it, though the feeling of being watched didn't disappear. But he was tired right now, really tired. When he closed his eyes and turned around in his bed, facing the other direction, he was able to slowly doze off again, trying his best to think about something happy.

The days passed by after that. Daiki was tired, his eyes dull, having lost his will to fight. He didn't talk to Taiga, nor did Taiga talk to him, it seemed like both of them were slowly cooling down but drowning in their misery the same time.   
It was another time Daiki was laying in his bed and realized the time they'd been friends had been shorter than they were enemies now.  
And he just realized how hard it was to have an enemy instead of a friend, especially when he had feelings for him.

Taiga was alone.  
He didn't talk and didn't smile. It looked like he was glaring the whole time at everything that moved. Weirdly, Daiki also hadn't seen him eating once since he'd left the hospital wing. But even Satsuki and Tetsuya didn't know what to do, everyone suddenly got this unwell feeling every time they tried approaching Taiga.  
This had to stop.  
How?

"Dai-chan! Are you listening?" Satsuki poked him with her wand at the Gryffindor table.

"Hmm..." he just grumbled disinterested, not even looking at her.

"I know you and Taiga are not on the best terms, no one actually is, but we can't just sit around and do nothing! And I'm talking about Voldemort this time! Think about the Time-Turner!"

"I don't care," Daiki mumbled, slumping together in his chair.

"Dai-chan!! He tries to kill you, alright?? We have to stop him and for that, I need that damn book from the library!" she shouted.

"Why don't you just ask for the signature of a professor to get it from the Restricted Section," he yawned unimpressed.

"Yeah, right, as if that would work." Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"But every professor loves you, shouldn't be that hard to get one damn signature. You don't have to turn the whole thing into a secret mission again..."

"To your information, Dai-chan, I've told Akashi about it and we've even planned it so far. We're _all_ going to the library, including you, Taiga, Tetsuya, Akashi and me! Tomorrow night!" she just stated as a matter of fact, leaving Daiki a bit stunned.

"I don't want to... Why so many, though? And why the hell Akashi?!"

"You have the invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map, that's why. Akashi because he's smart and talented in magic, and then we still need a few who watch out for Filch and Mrs Norris," Satsuki quickly informed him.

"Uh..." Daiki just uttered, observing the surface of the table.

"I... don't have the invisibility cloak anymore, you know?"

"What?! Didn't you get it back after Taiga threw it away?!" she shouted scandalized.

"No..." he muttered.

"Too lazy."

"Daiki Aomine, you're moving your ass right now out of the castle to get it back! Right. Now!!" she ordered, slamming one hand one the table, making the surface quake slightly.

"Alright, alright, calm down! I'll search it!" he groaned, standing up.

"Good, Tetsuya and I will inform Taiga."

"Tch. Good luck with that," Daiki scoffed, leaving through the big double doors.

He didn't think Taiga would agree to come with them. When he'd hear Daiki would tag along, he would refuse for sure since he gave his best to avoid him. He probably also wasn't in the mood for something like that and wanted to be alone instead. Daiki had once watched how he picked a fight with Haizaki and Himuro. The weird thing was, he was staring down on his "brother" like on everybody else. He still remembered how the redhead's face would look sad and how he'd clutch the ring around his neck every time he encountered Himuro. But it had been different. It almost seemed like Himuro was scared when he'd looked into Taiga's eyes. Haizaki got it even worse, though. Daiki had heard from afar how he'd insulted Taiga as his dog once again, and added the fact he was a bad pet since he'd hurt his owner. Although the redhead's face hadn't even changed one bit, his hand had been even faster to grab him by the collar and throw him against the wall. Just like that. Then he'd turned around and left. And once again Daiki had had to furrow his brows by seeing how much strength Taiga seemed to posses.

He shook his head when he walked outside. It was a bit windy, but not cold. The weather was rather enjoyable. Daiki had no choice but to walk down the way to the lake again, remembering how Taiga had chased him and Satsuki off after he'd exposed Daiki under the invisibility cloak. He sighed loudly, fortunately he still knew where the cloak was and hopefully the wind hadn't blown it away.  
A minute later Daiki also remembered he had a wand.

"Accio invisibility cloak!" he shouted and waited, but nothing happened. He frowned. That was odd.  
He tried it once again, but like the last time, the spell didn't fulfilled its purpose. Maybe the cloak wasn't even here anymore? Daiki began wondering. But the only person who knew it was there besides him was Taiga, well, and Satsuki, but she would have given it back to Daiki if she had found it. So it probably had been Taiga who claimed it.  
Daiki groaned. How was he supposed to tell him he wanted it back without being strangled once again? He'd better let this to someone else, maybe someone innocent as Tetsuya.

When Daiki returned to the castle, he had to tell Satsuki in defeat he couldn't find his invisibility cloak and of course took Tetsuya to the side to ask him to go to Taiga and get it back for him. But to his displeasure, the short wizard denied.

"You have to do that yourself, Daiki. For tomorrow night it's better if you could agree on an armistice between the two of you, so you have to talk to him anyways."

"Ugh, fine... Dig my grave already," he grunted, placing his hand against his forehead.

"I don't think Taiga is going to kill you, but haven't made it better by following him and Satsuki," Tetsuya just responded blankly.

"That was her idea by the way! And what's even so bad to listen to someone's conversation?"

"Because she said to Taiga _just the two of us._ And he definitely hadn't wanted you to listen when he and Satsuki were talking about you," he explained and Daiki sighed.

"At least it's her fault too. Also, this happened almost a week ago, he shouldn't be so unforgiving!"

"Daiki, no one would forgive you after something like that." Tetsuya stared at him with his big blue eyes.

"I know, I know, shut up already..." he groaned.

"I heard from Satsuki she's going to lock you and Taiga in a classroom if one of you refuses to talk. You've got no choice."

"Oh God, fine! I got it, alright?!"

"Good luck, Daiki."


	13. The Restricted Section

"So...uhm, you know..." Daiki cleared his throat nervously, occasionally glancing at Taiga who just observed him, narrowing his dark red eyes.  
This was hella awkward. Since Tetsuya and Satsuki kept pushing, he had no other choice than to approach Taiga after Care of Magical Creatures.

"No," he just said, still staring at Daiki.

"Huh?"

"My answer is no. I'm not coming with you."  
Daiki noticed slowly how much he really disliked Taiga's blank face.

"Yeah, I've said that too, but Satsuki is going to lock us away until we're agreeing..." he replied warily.

"Ugh... Fine, everything's better than being locked in a place with you," he groaned and those words caused a stinging pain in Daiki's chest, making him look to the ground.

"So you're coming with us?" he asked.

"Yeah, but don't expect much from me," was the rough answer.

"Taiga... I'm sorry," Daiki almost whispered, but the other just glared at him.

"Cut that shit out, will you?"  
He felt his eyes drilling through him.

"I know you're not thinking like this!"  
Daiki knew he should stop since he just made it worse.

"Maybe I am right now!" Taiga snapped.

"The little amount of trust I still had in you is gone now because your decision was to kick it with your feet!" he added, his hand grabbing Daiki's Gryffindor tie.

"So just leave it be, Aomine."   
Daiki couldn't help but exhale in relief when the other let go of him. He calmed himself down before speaking his next word.

"I can't. Just so you know, I can't and won't let go of you. Never!"  
He could be wrong, but Daiki swore he'd seen hope flashing in Taiga's eyes for a second, but it was gone again the next moment.

"You have something else to say? If not, leave me alone," he scoffed, averting his gaze.

"Well... the invisibility cloak..."

"You're not getting it back."

"Huh? So you have it?"

"Yeah, but tell me one reason I should return it to you," Taiga scowled at him.

"Uh... It's mine?" Daiki tried, but the other just shook his head.

"Listen, I'm sorry I eardropped your conversation with Satsuki, but we need it for tomorrow night!" he almost begged. Taiga looked at him in disgust.

"Stop it with your pitiful apologies, they're not changing anything. And since I'll have to come with you, I can bring it myself. You won't get a better offer." And with that he just turned around and left. Daiki sighed, at least his invisibility cloak wasn't lost.

He was bored for the rest of the day and maybe their secret trip to the Restricted Section would be a little highlight. And although Taiga seemed to despise him even more now, he couldn't wait to interact with him again, so he found himself looking forward to tomorrow night.  
Daiki let his head sink on the small table in front of the window inside the sleeping dorm.

"Are you in love with someone?" he muttered to Quaffle who was hopping around on the table's surface, occasionally picking at his cape.

"Can owls even fall in love?" Daiki knew he was talking more to himself, but his boredom was too big to remind him he had three friends he could talk with. Then he suddenly remembered it weren't three anymore.  
He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Please tell me what to do, Quaffle..."  
The Barn owl looked at him with her big eyes, cocking her head to one side before continuing to walk over his fingers.

"You're the only animal that likes Taiga, so you somehow have to understand what's going on with him," he mumbled into his cape, closing his eyes.  
Why couldn't he decide with who he'd fall in love? It would be so much easier if he could have chosen someone else. But well, it was like he'd been thinking the whole time; It wasn't that easy. Daiki grumbled in frustration. Damn, he wanted to touch him, maybe even kiss him. Yeah, that would be nice, right? He was too excited what it would feel like to realize it was never going to happen. When he did, he smashed his head against the table's surface with a thump, making Quaffle jump. The small owl complained with a few offended chirps before calming down again.

"I bet his lips are soft," Daiki sighed, trying to ignore the pain in his forehead. He hoped there wasn't going to be a bump.

"They have to be soft, right? They were when he'd kissed me," he continued talking to himself.

"His hair is soft too. I guess I really liked his hands before everything," he sighed.

"Man, I'm such an idiot!" He banged his head on the table another time, letting it stay there, his nose pressed against the cool wood.

"Tell me, Quaffle, do you have gay owls in the Owlery?"  
Of course there was no answer, not that Daiki had expected one.

"Whatever, go to sleep, it's late already," he hummed before realization hit him like a bolt. It was rather a memory, though. In that moment Daiki recalled how he and Taiga had sat together before Slughorn's party. Everything had been fine back then. He'd placed Quaffle on Taiga's head, laughing at his reaction. Then he'd told the owl to go to sleep when the redhead had reminded him with a snicker that owls were nocturnal. Daiki had been embarrassed for sure, but he'd laughed with him.   
Oh man, he wanted to hear Taiga laugh again so badly.

The next morning Daiki had dark bags under his eyes, he hadn't been able to sleep one bit, especially after his horrible dream. Also, they'd see Snape in the afternoon for D.A.D.A., so his motivation had completely vanished.

"Where are we gonna meet for tonight? The common room?" Daiki asked a bit disinterested.

"No, Dai-chan, stupid! Akashi is a Slytherin, so he doesn't have access to our common room! We're meeting at the Gryffindor table after dinner," Satsuki immediately corrected him.

"So he can't enter our common room, but he's allowed to sit down at the Gryffindor table?" he asked confused.

"Daiki, where have you left your brain?" Tetsuya said without blinking once.

"Ugh..."

* * *

 

Charms was boring and Potions was boring, although professor Slughorn buzzed around him like a hyperactive fly the whole time, throwing compliments at him. When he once told Taiga to take an example of Daiki's potion, the teacher flinched under the glare the redhead gave him. No wonder there...

D.A.D.A. was a little more problematic. In the classroom Daiki noticed just how much everyone wanted to be as far away as possible from Taiga who stood in the corner with a dark face. Haizaki didn't even dare teasing him after getting acquainted with the wall not that long ago.   
The class got quiet immediately when Snape entered the room, rushing towards the teacher's desk hastily as always.

"Today you'll learn how to defend yourself against wizards and witches that have the intention to hurt or even worse kill you," he announced without even greeting the students.

"Your task this lesson is to learn Protego, a spell that will create a shield consisting of magic around you if used correctly. You'll pair up, one of you is a dark magician and the other one has to defend themself. Anyone who hurts their partner with more than a few scratches can count with detention. And also..." Snape turned around to Furihata who was already whispering with Fukuda, staring at the two threatening.

"I'm deciding with who you pair up."  
More than half of the class paled on an instant.

In the end Satsuki had to work with Himuro, Tetsuya with Akashi, poor Furihata with Haizaki (who was spotting a sadistic grin), and Daiki... of course he got Taiga as a partner. He knew Snape had done that on purpose, he never missed a chance to make him suffer. And now that the redhead was angry at him, Daiki found himself in a bad situation.

"Mr Aomine, I heard you already had experience with Protego. You mind demonstrating the spell in front of the class?"  
Great. Snape was the biggest asshole alive, maybe even worse than Voldemort. Pretty close for sure.  
It wasn't even a request where Daiki could decide or not, he couldn't deny since Snape got him in his hands as their teacher.

"Mr Kagami, please join your _friend_ in the middle of the room, the rest of you is going to watch from the sides," the professor demanded and a few moments later Daiki was facing Taiga who stared at him blankly.   
Would he really try to hurt him? Snape warned them to leave no serious injuries behind, but still... Daiki shuddered when he suddenly remembered how the Boggart had lost all its limbs at Taiga's first day in Hogwarts.  
Shit...

"I'm counting up to three," Snape informed them monotone, looking at both of them.

"One..."  
Daiki's spell should be strong enough to protect him.

"Two..."  
It was, right? He was good in magic and had practiced in the Room of Requirement in his fifth year.   
The problem was he didn't know how strong Taiga was...

"Three."  
What was Taiga capable of? Daiki would find out not a second later.

"Protego!" he quickly shouted before small blue flames emitting from Taiga's wand could hit him. He was almost sure he'd successfully defended himself against the flames, but Daiki had to watch in shock how they transformed into two hands with claws, scratching at his shield. Taiga's face didn't change one bit as he continued to control the flaming hands, enlarging them by adding even more fire.

Shit, this was entirely different from what Daiki had seen of him in the Dueling Club where he'd just used the standard spells. He slowly got scared, how many kinds of jinxes did Taiga know?  
When Daiki could feel the heat of the fire hands, he knew his shield would give in the next few seconds, and he couldn't do anything.  
There was a crack in the protecting wall that was still connected to his wand. Long fingers crawled through the narrow gap in his shield, burning the rest away. Daiki feared the moment the hands would approach him, close around his neck and burn him.

"Finite Incantatem!"   
It was Snape who intervened, letting the flames disappear.

"You failed, Mr Aomine, not like this is rare. Everyone else should know how to do this better," he just said and Daiki furrowed his brows in surprise and confusion because what the hell, that definitely wasn't a normal spell Taiga had used on him and definitely not one that was allowed in Hogwarts. But either Snape wanted to infuriate him even more or just shrugged it off. It probably was the first one.

Taiga didn't use the spell again in this lesson when they had to search a place in the classroom to practice. He'd probably just wanted to scare Daiki with it, and to his displeasure he'd succeeded in doing so.  
He also had to notice that Taiga's Protego was pretty decent. It seemed like he was pretty talented in magic just like Daiki, maybe even a bit better, though he'd never admit that. Therefore Daiki had the better judgement concerning what to do in which situation and probably more experience in dueling.

He knew himself he was weak this lesson. Daiki felt sick by just directing his wand at Taiga, the pictures of him in the bathroom still haunting him.

* * *

 

"Why do we even make that much of an effort for one damn book?" Daiki groaned at the Gryffindor table after Snape had sent the students out of the classroom.

"Because we'd have a problem otherwise, Daiki."  
Said one flinched when Akashi suddenly stood right behind his chair.

"And why's that?" He didn't dare glaring at him, never mess with Akashi...

"We can't get the Time-Turner without even knowing where Durmstrang is located, and that's exactly what's described in the book!" Satsuki explained.

"So with the book we'll get to know the route to the castle? Wait, how do you even know about the book?"  
She averted her gaze, rubbing the back of her head.

"Uh... I may have observed Madam Pince when she entered the Restricted Section to sort the books. She even inspected one while mumbling something like Karkaroff wouldn't be happy to know that such a book exists!"

"And you figured it explains how to get to Durmstrang just like that?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow.

"Well, if I'd go by the cover, yes."

"What was the book's name then? _Road to Durmstrang? Durmstrang Tourist Guide?_ " he snorted.

"Daiki, I hope I'm not hurting your feelings by telling you we'd all be happier if you could quit your useless comments," Akashi smiled at him, leaving Daiki grumbling and glaring at the bottle of pumpkin juice in front of him.

"At least tell us what's the plan!" he demanded rudely.

"Later, here are still too many students. We'll wait after everyone has finished eating dinner," Satsuki replied.

"Allow me one question, Satsuki." Akashi looked at her, his expression illegible.

"What do we need _him_ for?" He pointed at Taiga who hadn't said one word yet. He was also sitting a little offside, still listening, but he didn't really look like he was belonging to them.

"He's our Durmstrang expert," Tetsuya explained, blinking once.

"We don't need an expert when said one doesn't even know where his own school is," Akashi argued and Daiki saw how Taiga narrowed his eyes.

"I'd rather replace him with Kouki for tonight."

"He's our friend, okay? And we have no use for a Chihuahua!" Daiki replied slightly angry.

"Careful..." Akashi's left eye seemed to glow.

"No, you should be careful too! Taiga comes with us and that's it!"

"Are you sure you want to challenge me, Daiki? Also, I don't know if he still considers you as a friend after everything..."

"That's enough!" Satsuki cleared her throat.

"Akashi, get a chair and Taiga, come a bit closer or you won't be able to discuss the plan with us," she ordered after making sure they were almost alone in the Great Hall.   
Taiga stood up, pulling his chair behind him to join the others, looking to the ground when he was closely sitting next to Daiki.   
The latter one suddenly felt the urge to touch him as he could feel the other's presence right next to him. Just touching his hand would be enough, or maybe his hair, but a hug would definitely be the best.

"Daiki, are you listening?" Tetsuya asked who was also sitting next to him, managing to scare the hell out of Daiki.

"Damn Tetsu, stop always appearing right next to me!"

"I was sitting here the whole time."

"Okay, now everyone shut up please!" Satsuki raised her voice a little, smiling satisfied when she got everyone's attention.

"So, first the book. The weird thing is, it doesn't have a name and we'll have to recognize it just by its cover! The front and the back look completely the same. It shows a red castle on a black background and-..."

"Wait, wait, wait! How should we be able to memorize this?!" Daiki interrupted her.

"Not everyone is as stupid as you, Dai-chan! Whatever, there's also a red line connected to the castle, probably symbolising the way. The special thing is that the line keeps moving the whole time, so I don't think it's gonna be that hard to find the book."  
Tetsuya and Akashi nodded, Taiga was staring at Satsuki blankly and Daiki still had problems to get everything into his brain.

"Alright, now we're talking about your roles. Tetsuya, I want you to stay in front of the library with the Marauder's map to watch out for Filch and Mrs Norris. As soon as you see them coming our way, you're running inside and hide under Madam Pince's desk. They shouldn't be able to spot or identify you since it's dark and you have a low presence. When you're entering the room, the others will hide too.   
Taiga and Akashi, you will help me to find the book. Taiga's gonna tell me if the castle on the book's cover is Durmstrang and Akashi will keep the books quiet because all of you know they begin screaming as soon as you take them without permission. Dai-chan, of course you can help us searching too, but I mainly want you to wait in front of the window with your invisibility cloak in case that Filch is going to search for us in the library which is hopefully not going to happen."

"Great," Daiki mumbled, feeling a bit useless.

"But _if_ he and Mrs Norris are inside the library, I've practiced an invisibility spell with Akashi and we're going to be able to sneak away since the spell keeps us invisible for a few minutes. Dai-chan, you can just use the cloak, but Taiga has to get under it too. And since you're not first graders anymore, so you have to watch out you'll both fit under it."  
Daiki blinked in bewilderment.   
He? And Taiga? Under the invisibility cloak? That's gonna be narrow for sure!  
Taiga suddenly raised his arm.

"Yes?" Satsuki looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Satsuki, but I'm not very eager to be that close to Aomine," he said and Daiki felt again the slight stinging in his chest.

"I know, but we don't really have an other choice if we don't want to get caught by Filch. Also, this doesn't have to happen, it's just _if_ he shows up."

"Who are they exactly? I mean Filch and Mrs Norris?" he then asked.

"Ah, sorry, right, you couldn't know that. Filch is Hogwarts' caretaker and Mrs Norris is his cat. Not a normal one, though. She helps him spotting students that try to sneak out of their dorms at night," she quickly informed him.

"Alright. We just have to wait now until it's dark and Madam Pince leaves the library. Are there anymore questions?"

After half an hour, Satsuki sent Daiki and Taiga up to their sleeping dorm to get the invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map. Taiga ignored him on the way, walking ahead and Daiki could just wish he'd turn around and finally laugh with him again.

"Here." The redhead threw the cloak at him after he'd gotten it from the underside of his bed. Where else should he have been able to hide it?

"Thanks..." Daiki muttered quietly, looking at Taiga for a moment, and to his surprise the redhead stared right back. There was no anger in his eyes this time, but Daiki was sure he had spotted that flash of hope again.

"Tai-..."

"Come on, we have to go."  
And it was over again.

* * *

 

"Alright, let's do this, guys!"  
Daiki rolled his eyes. Satsuki seemed way too excited for this. The five had sneaked up into the library without getting caught by a teacher or even worse, Filch. Tetsuya received a few pats on his shoulder as he was left standing in front of the library after Daiki had entrusted the Marauder's map to him.

"Filch is on the third floor, so you should have enough time," he informed them after taking a short look.

"Thank you, Tetsuya." Akashi's smile slowly managed to piss Daiki off.

The library somehow seemed even bigger without light and he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to find the Restricted Section without Satsuki. Against his thought, it wasn't that hard to miss. The books in the section were locked up behind grids.

"Lumos," Daiki mumbled, having problems to see in the dark. The light from his wand was faint, but Satsuki didn't want them to be too obvious, so Daiki was the only light source for now.

"Alohomora!" Satsuki aimed at the huge lock in front of the door.

"Woah, it's that easy?" Daiki shouted unbelieving when the lock opened and got caught by Akashi before it could hit the ground.

"Shhh! No shouting, Dai-chan!"

Satsuki, Akashi and Taiga entered the section, whilst Daiki decided to open the window first. Man, it was way to hot in here just because Madam Pince refused to let too much air hurt her precious books. He rolled his eyes. What's it with books? They were so useless and boring!

Daiki looked outside, a cold breeze blowing in his face, making him shiver. At least he wouldn't have to attend classes if he got a cold...  
But there was another thing that seemed to upset him. The sky was dark, the stars covered by even darker clouds. Just like in his nightmare.  
When he looked down, he couldn't even see the ground. It was so far away Daiki was sure one would fall for more than ten seconds. He then snapped out of it, reminding himself of their current situation.

Daiki went over to the others, taking a look at the many books that had been locked up. Not without a reason, some of them really looked nasty. Many of them reminded him of the Monster Book of Monsters that had almost bitten his fingers off in his third year. No wonder Daiki hated books...  
He still remembered how the whole class was despaired with that book until Hagrid told them to just pet the book's back to calm it down. Oh man, magic could be so freaky.

Daiki wasn't really concentrating on his task as he inspected the almost endless rows of dangerous books. He wondered how mighty Voldemort would be if he had an army of said books. It was a stupid thought, but still...  
He absently scanned the titles and suddenly stopped in his tracks when he spotted one that caught his interest.  
_The Secret of Reading Minds._

Daiki always wanted to read minds, now more than ever. If he could do it, he'd finally know what the hell was going on with Taiga, what he really thought about Daiki and what for a secret he was still keeping from him.  
He knew he shouldn't do this, but maybe... just maybe he could take it without anyone noticing.

Daiki quickly turned around to see what the others were doing. It seemed like Satsuki had given up on searching the book without light, so her, Taiga's and Akashi's wand were glowing too. Akashi was inspecting the shelf behind Daiki while Satsuki and Taiga were farther away, searching through the lower rows.  
No one would notice him hiding the book under his cape, right? Damn, he was disgusted by himself at wanting to steal a book after having such a bad opinion about them. But like most of the times his curiosity took over and before he could change his mind, he'd pulled it out of the shelf.  
It was heavy. Heavier than he thought. Daiki knew he'd made a mistake when he accidently dropped the book, causing it to land on the ground opened. The sound made everyone turn around to him, looking at him startled, but what followed was even worse.

He had to watch how the right page morphed into a face of letters. It broke through the surface, making the white face three-dimensional. The empty eyes were wide and when it opened its mouth, Daiki knew it was over. A scream so loud and shrill was being heard that he had to cover his ears, along with the others around him. The book continued to scream, the volume was still raising and it just wouldn't stop. Daiki saw Akashi shouting something at him, but it was hard to understand.

"Close the damn book!!"

He quickly bent down, wanting to touch the book, but the pages were suddenly razor sharp, causing Daiki to cut his hand. He retreated fastly, standing up and managing to kick the book close.  
Damn! He forgot just _how_ dangerous these books were.

"Fuck!" Daiki cursed loudly, panting a little due to the adrenaline rush.

"Dai-chan, what the hell did you do?? That scream could be heard in the whole castle!!" Satsuki looked at him scandalized.

"I won't say that, but it was definitely enough to alert Filch," Akashi added, looking at him angrily along with Satsuki. Daiki glanced at Taiga, but he was just staring at him quietly without making a face.  
A moment later Tetsuya was running inside, searching cover under Madam Pince's desk like Satsuki told him.

"He's coming!"

"We have to hurry, we can't give up now!" Satsuki began searching frantically, scanning the many shelves at her fastest.

"No! We don't have time anymore! Everyone, hide right now!" Akashi replied, grabbing Satsuki's shoulder.

"But this our only chance! After this Filch is going to guard the library for the rest of the year!"

"Still better than leaving Hogwarts when he catches us now!"  
That seemed to finally convince her and she nodded.

"Alright. We'll better get out of the Restricted Section then."  
Not a second later footsteps were quickly approaching the five and everyone could hear Filch cursing.

"Damn this shit, I'll ask Dumbledore to make you leave if it's you again, Peeves! You wouldn't be so comfortable in other places, you fucking poltergeist!"

Daiki hissed as he quickly rushed over to the window, praying the wind wouldn't betray him as he covered himself under the invisibility cloak. Akashi and Satsuki had already used their spells, but Taiga was still there, staring at the door wide-eyed, not knowing what to do. Damn it, Daiki couldn't talk right now or Filch would hear him.

Since he had no other choice he silently ran back into the section, grabbing Taiga's hand to show him where he was. The other flinched by the sudden contact, not able to see Daiki, but the latter one quickly pulled him under the cloak before he could react.   
When they saw the glow of a lamp, they knew Filch was here, along with Mrs Norris who was sniffing around.

"Huh? Students, you say? I'm going to lock you little bastards into my bureau and you'll be relieved when you can finally leave Hogwarts!"  
Shit, one shouldn't underestimate that damn cat's nose and her close connection to her owner.  
Filch stopped walking and raised his lamp.

"The Restricted Section? Your punishment is going to be even worse!"  
Fuck! They had to do something, now! If Filch would enter the section before they could leave, they were done for good. Daiki still had Taiga's hand in a tight grip, feeling the other's quickening breath on his neck as he tried to stay as close to him as possible in order to not get spotted. He pulled slightly at his hand to symbolize to move forward. The window! They should get back to the window. There was no shelf, so not a place where Filch would look for them, and the fact that they were invisible was a big advantage.

They slowly moved out of the section and Daiki had to hold back to not just run away like his instincts told him. The problem was that the two of them just were too big for the invisibility cloak and Mrs Norris must've seen Daiki's or Taiga's legs because she suddenly looked at them and began mewling.

"Oh, what is it, what is it? Found something?" Filch turned around to directly face them.  
Daiki and Taiga slowly walked backwards, the window now right behind them. He began sweating and so was Taiga as he felt his warm body behind him. But Daiki couldn't allow himself to think of their close proximity now.

"I know you're there. Come out before it's going to be worse," Filch chuckled a little creepily and Mrs Norris was still staring at them, probably smelling the two. The caretaker slowly took another step into their direction, causing Daiki and Taiga to take a step back and finding themselves pressed against the window frame.

Filch would get them if they stayed there. And as much as he despised to admit it, Daiki knew the window was their only chance. But then he also remembered the horrifying abyss. They'd die if they jumped.   
Another thing came to his mind. They were wizards, right? Therefore everything should be possible for them.  
And with that Daiki quickly jumped on the windowsill, pulling Taiga with him. He heard Filch shouting and Mrs Norris hissing behind them, but that only caused him to act even quicker, not hesitating one moment to jump into the emptiness underneath him.

Daiki tried his best not to scream, but of course he did. Taiga wasn't better, it was even worse for him since the fall was unexpected. Both of them screamed their lungs out as they fell, falling faster and faster, and when Daiki could see the ground, he realized it had been a really bad idea. A really, really bad idea. The wind was soughing through his ears, letting his eyes sting, pressing against his face. He coul feel Taiga next to him, but he couldn't hear him anymore.

Satsuki would've known what to do in this situation. She would've known which spell to use, like always. But they were on their own now and things were happening way too quick to even have time to think about a spell that could save them.   
This just had been a really bad idea.  
They'd both die.  
Congratulations, Daiki Aomine.  
Accidently committing suicide because he didn't really think about the consequences of jumping from one of the highest places in Hogwarts was a thing not everyone managed to accomplish.  
Damn, I fucked up again, Daiki thought when he closed his eyes as the ground came closer with immense speed.

"Arresto Momentum!!"

When he opened his eyes again after realizing he wasn't dead, he found himself with his nose hanging just a few inches over the grass.  
Holy freaking shit!  
He was so fucking lucky!  
Apparently Taiga had known what to do, not a second too early...

The spell eventually lost its effect, letting them both fall to the ground with a combined groan.

"Fuck!" Daiki shouted into the grass, accidently getting a few crumbs of earth in his mouth, spitting them out quickly. He knew he should've dodged because not a second later he got pulled up by his cape harshly, receiving a kick in the stomach which made him hit the ground again.

"Goddamnit, you almost killed us, asshole!!" Taiga yelled angrily, wanting to kick him again, but he suddenly froze as he looked behind Daiki who was coughing, holding his stomach.

"Uh, you know getting caught by Filch is actually much more worse than death..." he said despite the dangerous situation they'd been in a few moments ago. When Taiga still stared at something behind him, Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Hey, is there... shit..."  
It was cold all of a sudden, the temperature sank and although it was a summer night, Daiki's breath came out in white puffs and he began shivering.

"Shit..." he repeated.  
He didn't even have to turn around to see what Taiga was seeing. He knew what it meant.

"W-what are those...?!" The redhead sounded scared and he had all right to be.

"Dementors!" Daiki quickly stood up, joining Taiga who was already stumbling backwards, holding his wand out with his shaking hand.  
Dementors.

No wonder they were here. Daiki and Taiga were at the backside of the castle where it was always dark, where no lights of the castle could illuminate the area and just behind them was the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore had warned them.   
Never do something that could anger them.

But Daiki was different. He'd always been vulnerable when it came to Dementors. Those three meters high creatures that were draining peace, hope and happiness out of the air would suck every good feeling and happy memory out of you if you got to close. And for Dementors Daiki was an easy victim since he had more bad memories than good ones. Every time a Dementors had been close to him he could hear the scream of his mother when she'd died.

"Fuck! Damnit! What the hell is this?!"  Taiga shouted, flinging jinxes at the dark creatures in front of them in despair, but of course it was useless. It doesn't even matter to them as their arms got detached from their body or that their grey linen were burning. The cold air quickly erased the flames.

"What... the... Why am I feeling so... empty...?" Taiga began panting. Daiki realized he probably was easy prey for the Dementors too. His life hadn't been any better than Daiki's.

It just were too many. The group of Dementors grew and grew and they suddenly were surrounded by them. It was so cold and Daiki felt so hopeless as all his motivation for life vanished. He had to summon his Patronus, but he was too empty already, so weak and useless, so unimportant to the world.

Daiki suddenly snapped out of it when he heard a strangled cry coming from his left and Taiga was collapsing while clutching his clothes over his heart.

Taiga! He had to save at least him. Daiki would make it up to him, they'd laugh again and...  
But they couldn't if he wouldn't survive. A Dementor's kiss was worse than death and Daiki didn't want to end like one of them. Because if a Dementor would feed on his feelings for long enough, he'd be reduced to something similar as themselves. Soulless and evil.  
And that was the last thing Daiki needed right now. He also didn't want to imagine Taiga like that, without a soul.

"Expecto Patronum!" Daiki collected all happy memories of his that were still remaining to call his Patronus.  
But nothing was happening.  
Why? Had he thought about the wrong things?

The best memories he had were with his friends, including Taiga. The many times they'd laughed together. Wasn't this enough to summon the silver animal from his wand?  
Daiki thought about Taiga again. His smile, his sparkling eyes, but... it was faint and blurred. Instead his angry face came to his mind. His dark eyes, his blank face, an expression of indifference and hate. The day when he'd almost strangled Daiki and when he even appeared in his dreams.

"Expecto Patronum!"

"Expecto... Patronum!"

He couldn't do it. He didn't have the power.

"Expecto..."

He was so tired and empty. The Dementors were so close, every feeling inside him disappeared bit by bit.

"Expecto..."   
His wand was glowing slightly, too weak to summon his panther. Too weak...  
Daiki had failed, once again. He was a failure himself. He couldn't even protect Taiga.  
Somehow that didn't even matter to him anymore. He closed his eyes.  
He just wanted this to be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't intend to make this a cliffhanger, but I realized there was too little time left to add something more... ^^°


	14. Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I'm late! It's close to midnight here and school is killing me.   
> But well, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter ;)

It was an understatement to say that Taiga was scared. Hella scared.  
He'd never faced Dementors before and found himself completely helpless, not knowing how to defend himself against them.  
When Daiki's Boggart had transformed into a Dementor, he'd summoned a panther that had willed it away. But how had he done that? What was the spell?!

Taiga was too absorbed in his thoughts and too distracted by the creatures around him at the same time that he noticed too late how Daiki tried casting the spell before suddenly blacking out.  
And that scared Taiga even more. His head was hurting already as he felt how the Dementors sucked his happy memories out of him, only leaving back his dark times.

"Damnit! _Damnit_!!" he hissed, squeezing his eyes together as he began fighting against it, refusing to let go of his soul. A tiny part of his mind told him it was hopeless. There were too many Dementors, he couldn't get away.   
And even if, he'd lose Daiki.

_Why would you care about him?_  
Taiga turned around, the voice almost sounding like someone was whispering behind him, but he knew it were his own thoughts. He was hallucinating already, the Dementors feeding on his sanity.

_He didn't want you, remember? He wanted to get rid of you in that bathroom. Now let him suffer too, it's only fair._  
_Just let him die, he deserves it._

No, no! Taiga dodged the decayed hands that were longing for him by ducking down, trying to approach Daiki who was laying a few feet away from him.

He had to make it! He couldn't give up now! If there was something Taiga was really good in, it was his strong will to live which made him refuse to just die here.  
His hands were freezing on the cold ground as he crawled up to Daiki, the thick fog emitting from the Dementors making it hard to see.

_Just run away if you can. You'll die as soon as you try to save that piece of trash that has caused you more pain than anyone else._  
Taiga managed to ignore the voice, listening to his heart instead.  
In the past he'd often regretted following his heart, but this time he needed to. For Daiki's sake.

He was close to him already, but with every move his limps got heavier, his mind emptier and the will in his heart slowly fell silent too. Taiga could only watch how a small ball of light, not bigger than his fingernail, left through Daiki's opened mouth, slowly rising up into the sky. At the same time Taiga could hear him exhaling for the last time, his breath freezing in the air.  
He stopped breathing after that, the light distancing itself further, slowly but at a steady pace as if it had a destination.

Daiki's soul.  
In one last attempt to save him, to just do _something,_ Taiga reached for the small sphere, his arm feeling like it weighed tons, but as he touched it, it just slid through his fingers like it was really just consisting of light, continuing to rise up to the night sky.  
He let his arm fall down onto the grass. He was so tired and everything suddenly seemed so indifferent that he didn't do anything against the Dementors that were pulling at his cape, grabbing his shoulders, slowly devouring his soul like they'd done with Daiki's.  
He turned his head upwards with his last energy to watch the bright sphere that was still rising.

Taiga was about to give in to the urge to just close his eyes when he suddenly perceived something.  
There was a light, a really strong one, and it was coming closer.  
Was he hallucinating?

All Dementors suddenly jerked their heads around to face the unnatural growing glow that was approaching them.  
Taiga squinted his eyes. It was not just light, it was an animal with a silver body, transparent, but so bright. He had to look away for a second, not wanting to get blinded.   
What was happening? Was that even real?

He recalled having seen something similar already. It looked a bit like Daiki's panther, but this one seemed so much stronger, the immenseness of the light making it unable for him to recognize the shape of the animal behind it.

As surprising was how the Dementors suddenly began screaming. Hoarse voices were echoing from all around him as they cried the air out of their rotten lungs.  
The silver animal sped up towards them, chasing them away. The Dementors were so scared, that kind of magic had to be their worst enemy.

They were hovering over to the Forbidden Forest as fast as they could, their movements choppy as they continued screaming, taking the fog and the coldness with them.

Taiga was panting heavily, having to collect his head again after being so disoriented and confused. He blinked a few times when the animal had stopped right in front of him and stopped glowing, looking right at his face.

It was a doe.  
Big eyes with long lashes were staring down at him, the silver body slim and flawless, Taiga could do nothing than to stare back in awe. He was stunned for a few seconds, fascinated by the wonder in front of him. Only when the doe turned its head, he suddenly remembered in what situation he was in.

"Dai...ki..." His breath faltered as he was looking at the other's pale face, cupping it with his hands in panic.

"Daiki... Can you hear me...?!" Taiga's voice sounded rough, his friend's face was so cold he was almost freezing again. He was even more scared when Daiki suddenly opened his eyes, but they were empty. The iris and the pupil were gone, leaving back his dull white eyeballs.   
Taiga shivered. Was there nothing he could do? Had he failed?

The doe next to him looked up, causing him to do so too. And what he saw revived a spark of hope inside him.  
The small light that had kept moving upwards until now had stopped. It was true that it was Daiki's soul that was separated from his body, but now that the Dementors were gone, it seemed to come back.

It really did, though it was as slow as before. If it was the presence of the doe or the fact that they weren't in danger anymore that caused this phenomenon, Taiga wasn't certain of.  
He just hoped, really hoped it would safe Daiki. And it somehow didn't matter to him what had happened before, the voice in his head long gone. Only Daiki was important now and Taiga wanted him to live again more than anything else.

He let his hand brush over Daiki's cheek and pushed his sweaty hair out of his face. The entire time he looked at his face, waiting with the silver doe next to him for his soul to return.

And when it finally did, Daiki sat up abruptly, inhaling as much air as possible. He blinked a few times, trying to catch up with what had happened.

"What the..." he mumbled as he noticed the Dementors were gone. His eyes went even wider when he suddenly noticed the Patronus and Taiga who was kneeling next to him.

"What..."  
Daiki couldn't continue to speak when he suddenly found himself in a hug.  
It confused him even more, but he couldn't help but feel relieved.  
He didn't really remember what occured after he'd lost consciousness, but that wasn't as important as the arms embracing him, holding him close to the body they belonged to, making Daiki feel warm again. His heart began beating faster, but his breath slowed down as he relaxed on Taiga's shoulder.

He didn't know why the redhead was doing this, he'd seemed to hate his guts not half an hour ago, but now...   
Daiki could feel from his shaking form that he was scared, still holding onto him.   
His face softened.  
Taiga still cared for him, cared enough to even fear Daiki's death.  
And it felt good to know he was standing by his side again, having his back, meaning something to him.  
Daiki was so relieved that Taiga was everything but that cold person he'd shown him and his friends the last couple of weeks. And he was sure it had been Taiga's heart that could not take being like this for the whole time.

He looked up to the doe that was watching them, illuminating the dark sky with its glowing fur.

"Hey..." Daiki mumbled quietly, stroking Taiga's back. The other even tightened the hug by hearing his voice.

"It's... It's okay..." he calmed him down, letting one hand slide through his red hair.

"You... You were almost gone... I thought I lost you..."   
It was nothing more than a silent whisper, but these words meant a lot to Daiki.

"I'm here, don't worry," he whispered back, not knowing what else to say and just continuing to comfort him.

"I'm so glad it's over."

"Yeah, me too..."

Daiki already missed Taiga's warmth as they parted.

"By the way, is that your Patronus?" he asked, pointing at the doe.

"Huh? Uhm, no, it just appeared..." the redhead answered, looking at the silver animal again, captured by its beauty.

"That's weird," Daiki mumbled.

"But it's amazing, don't you think? It was there when we were in danger, saving us just in the right moment," Taiga said slowly, glancing at Daiki for a few moments.  
The doe cocked its head to the side, one ear was twitching before it suddenly turned around and ran off into the Forbidden Forest.

"H-hey, wait!" Daiki shouted, standing up quickly to follow it, but it was too late. It wasn't a real animal after all, just a spell that was going to end sooner or later.

"Wow, I've never seen something like that. Absolutely nothing comparable!" Taiga admitted, sinking down to the ground in front of a tree, letting it support his back.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Daiki smiled barely as he joined the redhead, panting a little due to his small run after the Patronus.  
Talking to Taiga just felt like before, everything that had happened after the bathroom seemed to be forgotten, at least for now.

"Damn, Dementors sure aren't nice... And not to mention you jumping out of the window just like that..." the redhead sighed, plucking at the grass on the ground.

"Sorry about that..." Daiki silently apologized and when he got no answer, he decided to continue because this was the moment he could make it up to Taiga again. He knew it, now was the time to let everything out.

"Sorry for everything else I did to you, and sorry for apologizing the whole time, but..." He stopped. Shit, this shouldn't be so difficult. Daiki turned around to look at Taiga's face and he was staring right back into his eyes.

"I... I really regret everything that happened the past few weeks and I'd do everything to make it good again because... you... You are important to me, so..." He felt the blood rushing into his face. Why was he so bad at this? The situation itself was hella awkward enough!  
But when he noticed Taiga's eyes sparkling with hope, he realized he was at least saying the right things.

"I've tried telling myself that what happened wasn't my fault, but it was. Everything! It's all my fault and I know you won't just forgive because I'm saying that, but I... You're meaning something to me and..." Suddenly the words flowed out of his mouth like a waterfall, his voice just going silent as he felt Taiga's thumb brushing over the back of his hand.

"It wasn't just you. I've been pretty much of an asshole too," he muttered quietly, resting his hand next to Daiki's, only their pinkies touching.

"I really wanted to hate you, but I couldn't. Not even after you had eardropped, so I hated myself instead. I thought I was weak because I couldn't let go of you, couldn't avoid you forever. I should've recognized sooner that the strength is to forgive someone than trying to hate them." He looked at him with a sad look on his face, causing Daiki to take his hand carefully, to see if he'd pull away. He didn't.

"You had every right to be like this. I've caused you more pain than anyone else after insulting you and... you know, but you're still talking to me..." he replied, liking the feeling of Taiga's fingers linked to his.

"That's because... you're important to me too..." he hummed, and when they both looked at each other, Daiki somehow felt that this moment was something special.

"I'm happy you're talking to me again," he whispered.

"Thank you for forgiving me."

"You were at fault and so was I, but I guess we both deserve a second chance," Taiga responded, smiling at him. Damn, how he'd missed that smile. That dazzling, angelic smile that made his heart skip a beat or two.

"You mean we can move on?" Daiki asked silently.

"Yeah, just a bad memory, nothing more."

Their faces moved closer, but neither of them did something against it.

"I missed you." Daiki's words were so quiet, Taiga wouldn't have heard him if their faces hadn't been only a few inches apart. The redhead continued to smile at him, cupping Daiki's cheek with his other hand, his thumb tracing over the smooth skin.

"Do you still remember how we had a picnic in front of the castle with Tetsu and Satsuki, and how you were so scared of Quaffle?" Daiki chuckled somehow sad, not knowing why this suddenly came up to his mind.

"Sure, it wasn't that long ago," Taiga answered, looking at him with a soft expression.

"It was. It really was a long time ago! It feels like it's been months already!" Daiki was sure his feelings were going to give in the next second and he'd cry a river.

"Don't worry, I remember every moment with you," Taiga smiled and that was the last thing needed for Daiki's tears to just roll down his face silently.

"I also know how we played quidditch for the first time and how we got so excited over each other's broomstick," Taiga chuckled, wiping Daiki's tears away.

"And I'll never forget how we got into that cabinet to steal the damn love potion or how I've destroyed your hair before the party," he continued, managing Daiki to laugh with him.

"But mostly, I just want to see your face the whole time. You're cute when you're pouting and I like your smile, although it's rare. I've missed that the last time, as much as I missed the sparkle in your eyes whenever you challenge me to something." Taiga leaned closer to him, their noses almost touching.

"I really like their color."

"Is this the wrong moment to say that you sound cheesy?" Daiki mumbled, admiring Taiga's perfect face and smiled when his eyes lit up in joy.

"I guess I've never been cheesy before, so you should feel honored," he laughed quietly.

"I want to kiss you," Daiki suddenly blurted the next second, his face reddening even more. He was lucky it was so dark around them.

"Mmh, you sure? You didn't like it last time," Taiga teased him, placing his hand on Daiki's chest.

"I- It's different now!" he stuttered, hating himself for being so nervous.

"Then go ahead," Taiga whispered and closed his eyes. Daiki stared at his face for a short time before carefully leaning in, squeezing Taiga's hand that was still on the ground and placing his arm around his back.  
Soft lips ghosting over his left a tingling sensation inside of him, an unknown feeling, but Daiki liked it nevertheless.

The touch was gentle and short, not like he'd expected, but he was alright with it. They should take it slow, especially after everything that had happened between them. And although Daiki hated to admit it, there sure was a lot of insecurity between them. It seemed like both of them didn't quite know what to do, and when they pulled back, they just looked at each other with flushed faces.

"A-actually, that was pretty nice," Daiki stammered after a minute of ultimate awkwardness.

"Y-yeah, I guess it was," Taiga muttered, shifting a little closer to him as they both stared down at the dark ground.

"So, uhm, I wouldn't mind doing it again, you know?" Daiki said slowly, hoping that the redhead would catch up to what he was implying.

"Ah, really...?" Taiga seemed a bit hesitant, though.

"Yeah, I mean, you already stole my first kiss, so why not going on?" he joked, smiling sheepishly at him and when the other grinned back, he knew he'd won.

"Alright, Daiki." He squeezed his hand in a gentle manner.

Daiki knew it shouldn't be that easy. It really shouldn't have been so easy to just make up with him, and he should be grateful for it, so fucking grateful for Taiga to even tolerate him again. And now he was doing even more, he'd kissed him right on his lips and it had been the best feeling ever, but Daiki still felt guilty. That it had been possible to get Taiga to _like_ him (he didn't dare calling it love yet) was a miracle to him.  
But again, he should just be grateful.

"How... How exactly are we going to get back?" Taiga asked him, shivering when a cold breeze hit the two, though Daiki enjoyed it when the redhead snuggled into him a bit, searching his warmth.

"Uh, the cloak has to lay somewhere around here...  
Accio invisibility cloak!" he cleared his throat and was more than happy that the spell seemed to work, which was a rather rare case usually, and flew back towards the two.

"Now don't worry, we'll just get back into our beds through a secret entrance I know," he smirked, letting go of Taiga's hand to adjust the cloak, about to cover them with it.

"Daiki."

"Yeah?" When he turned around, Taiga bent forward to quickly peck his cheek. He then grinned at him and Daiki felt warm all over again.

"What are we going to tell the others?" the redhead then asked as Daiki threw the cloak over the two.

"Uhm, I don't know... I guess we can tell them the Dementors attacked us and afterwards we just got along again... Something like that," he hummed thoughtfully.

"And that we kissed?"   
Daiki's face flushed all over again.

"Well... uh, let's just keep that to ourselves, it would be better like this, right?" he responded hesitantly.

"If you think so. But you're right, it would be weird for us if someone finds out. I mean, it's not quite normal..."  
Taiga's voice sounded a little sad, but it was true. They couldn't just tell the whole school they'd kissed after everything that had happened. It just wouldn't make sense.  
It didn't even make sense now, the whole tension between them suddenly gone, Daiki felt so light he was sure he could fly up into the sky.

It was great to feel Taiga that close next to him under the cloak, their bodies connected the whole time since they both didn't want to get spotted sneaking back into their sleeping dorm.  
The Fat Lady made a fuss about them waking her up this late as they wanted to enter the Gryffindor common room.

"At least show yourselves! I know it's you with the invisibility cloak, Mr Aomine! Did you finally manage to seduce that girl you're talking about the whole time?" she yawned, glaring at the empty spot where Daiki and Taiga stood after the first one had spoken the password.  
He rolled his eyes, and revealed the two as he put the cloak under his arm.

"Oh..." The Fat lady blushed and almost dropped her wine glass. She cleared her throat and quickly let the portrait sway aside for them to enter the common room. When Daiki turned around to Taiga, the latter one was grinning at him, shrugging his shoulders.

"Dai-chan!"   
Daiki almost jumped up to the ceiling when Satsuki suddenly appeared in front of them, having waited with Tetsuya in front of the fireplace for the two.

"Oh my God, how could you just jump out of that window?! You scared me so much, you stupid idiot!" she cried into his cape, choking him in a hug.

"S-sorry," he muttered a bit awkwardly, patting Satsuki's back. She always managed to make him feel guilty.

"You know that you both could have died." Tetsuya stared at him with his big blue eyes, causing Daiki to gulp. He turned around to face Taiga who was standing a little offside, looking like he didn't know if he belonged to them or not.

"So you're fine again?" Tetsuya just figured by the way Daiki was glancing at the redhead.

"Yeah..." Taiga mumbled quietly, smiling a bit shy. And not a second later Satsuki was hugging him too, Daiki feared she'd squeeze him to death.

"Finally! I already thought it was hopeless! You're both so stupid! How did that happen, anyway? You were away pretty long!"

"Well, unfortunately we weren't the only ones outside the castle," Daiki responded, and to his own surprise he couldn't help but feel a slight wave of jealousy hit him as he watched Satsuki cling onto Taiga, although he knew she was after Tetsuya.

"What do you mean?" said one asked.

"You remember how Dumbledore mentioned Dementors?"

"What?! Oh, damnit! Seriously, Dai-chan?!" Satsuki immediately screeched.

"Shhh!"

"Sorry, but there were Dementors that attacked you?!" she asked a bit quieter.

"Yeah, you know they like me," he joked.

"That's not funny! We have to inform Dumbledore, they can't just attack students!"

"Uh, but then he'd also know we were outside at night..." Taiga threw in.

"Right..." she sighed.

"And we didn't even get the book."

"Don't worry, we'll find a way," Taiga smiled at Satsuki, instantly causing her to smile too.

"I'm so happy you're friends again! I guess the evening was still worth it!"

"Yeah, it's good to have you two back," Tetsuya added and although it was dark, Daiki was able to spot a small smile lingering on his face for a few seconds.

"How late is it by the way?" Taiga yawned, looking around for a clock.

"Too late..." Tetsuya stated.

"Well, let's just go to bed. I'll have to think about a new plan with Akashi tomorrow." Satsuki waved at them before turning around to enter the girl's sleeping dorm.

"Night," she hummed.

"Yeah," Daiki responded, stretching himself as he also felt how his body was yearning for sleep. Tomorrow was Saturday, so he at least didn't have to stand up early.

"It's surprising you're getting along all of a sudden, but I guess it's a good thing," Tetsuya said silently as he opened the door to the dorm. And when he looked at Daiki, the latter one was wondering if he knew something. He shrugged it off due to his tiredness, content with finally hitting his pillows.

Daiki faced Taiga's bed after he'd laid down, and though it was dark, he could bet the other was turned to his side too, probably smiling in his sleep. A satisfied exhale left Daiki as he also closed his eyes, pretty sure he'd fall asleep quickly tonight, without anything he had to worry about. Sure, Dementors always were a terrifying experience, but what had followed afterwards made him forget about the earlier awfulness.  
Everything was fine at the moment.  
He was happy, so there firstly was no need to care about other things.

There still was a secret about Taiga he didn't discover yet, but he'd tell him eventually like Dumbledore said. Daiki calmed down even more when he recalled that the old wizard even knew that the redhead sometimes was in the Room of Requirement, so it couldn't even be something bad.   
Now that he remembered, he realized that their fight had been kind of unnecessary, but like Taiga had said, it was nothing more than a bad memory now.  
He'd tell him eventually, Daiki was sure of it.

Time always gave answers.


	15. Hog's Head Inn

"Dai-chan, wake up, we're going to Hogsmeeeaade!"  
When Daiki opened his eyes the next morning he shortly wondered if he'd been thrown back in time several weeks. But then he suddenly remembered; Taiga wasn't angry at him any longer, in fact it was the complete opposite.   
Damn, this was going to be his best year at Hogwarts.

"Daiki, stop smiling, you're scaring us," Tetsuya commented as he pulled his sheets away.

"Wha-... Just be happy about it, alright? And give me back my fucking blanket!"

"Well, that's more like you!"

Daiki felt warm inside for the hundredth time when he heard Taiga's low chuckle, coming from his side. He still couldn't believe everything was fine between them again, the fact almost more important than Daiki's fluttering heart.  
The redhead smiled at him when he turned around, and fuck it, Daiki felt like melting down.

"Alright, alright, Dai-chan. Get up now instead of staring at Taiga as if you'd like to devour him. Not a bad thought, by the way," Satsuki giggled and instead of replying infuriated, Daiki just blushed and kept silent.

"Oh my, I guess he ate something weird," Tetsuya sighed.

"Shut up."

"I will, if you agree to go with us to Hogsmeade."  
Daiki thought about it for a while, but if he was being honest he wanted to be alone with Taiga.

"Then do whatever you want, it's too early," he grunted, quickly snatching back his blanket from Tetsuya and turning aside.

"It's eleven AM."

"It's Saturday!"

"Come on, Dai-chan, otherwise I won't allow you to copy my homework!"

"Nevermind, we'll go with you, right Taiga?" he almost jumped out of his bed.

"Whatever you say," he laughed.

"Good, get dressed then, you have ten minutes!" Satsuki commanded, leaving the dorm before Tetsuya who showed them his thumbs up.

"We didn't even have breakfast!" Daiki complained, but the door was already shut. Taiga laughed again.

"You're way too happy about this!" Daiki narrowed his eyes playfully as he was staring at his face.

"Well, it just feels good to laugh again!" he justified.

"Is that so? Let's see how long you're going to laugh!" he smirked as he grabbed a pillow and threw it right into Taiga's face, but it only increased his laughter.

"So you _can_ be funny, huh?"   
Daiki quickly dodged the pillow that came flying right back, sailing through the entire room before slamming against the wall and landing on Wakamatsu's bed.

"Ew, you can't just throw it on his bed, I won't be able to ever sleep on this pillow again!" He quickly rushed over to get it back, brushing of the imaginary dust or whatever virus it had gotten by touching Wakamatsu's blanket.

"Just be happy we're alone, he's gonna scream all day if he hears you talking about him like that!" Taiga grinned, but was interrupted by the pillow hitting his face another time.

"Oh, that crossed the line..."  
Daiki sure didn't expect him to leap forwards, body slamming him with his whole weight, causing both to crash down on Daiki's bed.

"Ow! Is that the way you're behaving in front of the great Daiki Aomine?"

"Seems like it," the redhead smiled as he positioned himself on top of Daiki, his arms crossed over the others chest.

"Damn you're heavy..." he rasped, though he had nothing against Taiga's body being connected to his like that. There was his stupid heart again, fawning as he felt the redhead stroking his cheek.

"C-can I...?" He seemed shy, though, averting his gaze in slight embarrassment.

"Don't ask me," Daiki grinned, pushing down the other's head. It didn't quite work like he'd planned, their noses suddenly colliding, making Taiga's head snap back.

"Ow! You sure need practice!" he said as he hold his nose like Daiki, pouting at him slightly offended.

"Maybe you can teach me," he suggested, smirking at him again as soon as the throbbing in his nose stopped.

"That's perhaps not a bad idea..."  
Taiga seemed to have recovered too, placing a hand on Daiki's neck, about to start a new attempt, but a voice from outside interrupted them.

"You have one minute left."

"Thirty seconds, Tetsuya, they have to learn to be punctual!"

They looked at each other for a second, Taiga smiling a little disappointed at him before they both hurried up to get changed.  
Daiki knew they both were too shy, being in untested waters, especially after tolerating each other again all of a sudden. But he was sure he'd get his chance to kiss him again, and of course they had to talk.

* * *

 

"Ugh, I hate this annoying path. It's too long, I wanna go back!"

"Don't make me feel like I'm in a time loop with you saying that already for the hundredth time!" Satsuki complained, but didn't stop skipping down the way full of energy.

"I'd be rather complaining about the cold," Tetsuya threw in from behind and Taiga had to stifle a laugh when he saw the short wizard already wrapped in three scarfs and still shivering.

"Then be happy it's not snowing yet," Daiki smirked, though he knew himself the possibility that it would snow was really low since it was October. Therefore, he looked even more forward to the many snow battles he was going to have.

"It's not a bad thing. When it begins to snow, the Yule Ball isn't far away anymore!" Satsuki raved, subtly glancing at Tetsuya, and destroying Daiki's anticipation for winter.

"Oh God, what the hell, I heard everyone is already searching a partner for that shitty ball. What's even the big deal, it's still months away!" he groaned, letting his shoulders slump.

"You're just afraid no girl is going to ask you if you want to dance with her! Either that or because you don't have the balls to ask one," Satsuki smirked at him, worsening his already bad mood even more. Man, this day could have been so beautiful!

"Pff, as if! Every girl wants to dance with me, I'm famous!" he bragged, though his mind already told him that he wasn't even that eager to go dancing with a girl.

"Sure, whatever, just be happy you have friends," Taiga laughed, bumping his shoulder with his.

"Well, it's not like _you_ are going to find one if I can't!" Daiki defended himself.

"Uhu, and why's that?" he asked.

"Maybe because the whole school is afraid that you're going to kill each other brutally one day!" Satsuki interfered, hitting the backs of their heads.

"Ouch!"

"At least we're scaring annoying people off," Daiki threw in, thinking of Kise, regretting it when he got hit another time.

"And also, there's no way we'd ever seriously kill each other!" Taiga grinned, draping his arm around Daiki's shoulder.  
Satsuki just sighed.

"At least you both seem to be friendly again. Man, what an evolution... I'm still wondering what happened between you." She squinted her eyes at them curiously. Daiki awkwardly cleared his throat and quickly looking away, Taiga's arm leaving his shoulder.

"Back to our original topic, I may have a solution for you two," Tetsuya said when Hogsmeade was appearing in front of them after they'd crossed the hill.

"Oh yeah?" Daiki snorted quite unbelieving.

"Yes, so please listen." He turned around to face the two idiots with his usual blank look.

"Why don't you just dance together?"

Daiki was really lucky his face was red before caused by the low temperature. And when he quickly gazed at Taiga, he noticed the other wasn't better.

"W-what?!" they blurted in the same moment.

"Ooh, what a nice idea Tetsuya! They're going to be so cute together!" Satsuki squealed, clapping her hands in excitement.

"What the hell is wrong with you to call us cute?!" Daiki huffed in embarrassment.

"I-is dancing with a partner of the same gender even allowed?" Taiga asked flustered.

"Come on, Taiga! In which year are we living again? No one is going to say a thing!" Satsuki patted his back strongly, causing him to cough a few times.

"Yeah, because they're all going to stare at us instead!" Daiki grumbled.

"And? Even if, who is going to mock you? Haizaki? I bet he doesn't want to get thrown against a wall another time," Tetsuya replied, causing Daiki to narrow his eyes when he spotted a small smile on his lips.

"But we can't just... It's...!"   
It was hopeless. His annoying brain had already decided that it would be one of the greatest things of the world to dance with Taiga that evening.

"Just do it guys!" Satsuki rolled her eyes, but was smiling playfully.

"Alright, but you're not gonna tease us about this!" Daiki _reluctantly_ agreed.

"Let's see about that..."   
That giggle definitely implied something unsettling.

"I hope you realize you don't have another choice anyway," Tetsuya commented, not making the situation better.

"Fine. As long as he can dance and lowers his ego," Taiga teased him and ruffled through his hair, making Daiki grunt in response.

"Perfect! And now we're gonna get you some decent dress robes, and maybe I'll get something for myself too!" Satsuki cheered.

"No! Since when has this changed into a shopping trip?! Also, I have a fucking dress robe!" Daiki groaned, but he knew it was useless.

In the end all of them entered _Gladrags Wizardwear_ , Satsuki immediately rushing over to the dresses, looking at them with sparkling eyes.

"I just want to go home," Daiki sighed as he faced the dress robes on the opposite side with a certain lack of motivation. With a sigh he just grabbed a random one from a stack and threw it over his shoulder.

"Alright, we can go," he grumbled, turning around to pay, but suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground as Satsuki aimed with her wand at him, locking him in a Full Body Bind.

"DamnitSatsuki," Daiki hissed between his teeth, unable to open his mouth completely.

"Taiga, would you mind lifting him up and leaning him against the wall?" Satsuki asked sweetly, blinking at him with her puppy eyes.

"Uh... okay," he frowned, processing to grab his friend by the shoulders and pulling him over to a wall, waving an apologizing smile at the shop assistent.

"Getmethehelloutofthis!!" Daiki tried to growl, but his voice pitched suddenly and it just sounded ridiculous.

"No, no, don't make me use this spell on you too, Taiga," the witch warned him.

"Sorry, man, can't risk this," he grinned at Daiki and patted his cheek.

With him just standing in the corner of the room, unable to move or speak properly, he watched how Tetsuya helped Taiga get a decent dress robe for him and how Satsuki would appear in front of them every two minutes with a new outfit, asking what she looked like.

"Oh, that's a nice one!" she exclaimed one time, pointing at the robe currently examined by Taiga and Tetsuya.

"Yeah, Taiga, why don't you try it on?" Tetsuya said, shoving him in the changing room's direction.  
Meanwhile Daiki glared at them, or at least tried to glare as much as possible.  
Noticing his gloomy aura, Satsuki turned to him.

"Oh Dai-chan, if you'd agree to wear yours too, I'd release you!"

"Noway! I'mjusttakingthisandleave!"

Suddenly Taiga stuck his head out of the changing room.

"Ehm, how exactly do I wear this?" He hold out the black necktie that belonged to the dress robe.  
Satsuki looked at Daiki with a small smile on her lips.

"Last chance, Dai-chan..."  
Daiki wasn't able to turn his head to see Taiga, but rolled his eyes.

"Alright," he agreed. The girl grinned and reversed the spell.

"You're gonna get payback for this one!" he warned her, shaking his limbs.

"Sure, Dai-chan, now help Taiga. And you can take your time, Tetsuya and I will save you a place in _The Three_ _Broomsticks_ meanwhile."  
She walked to the cashier, placing her dress on the counter.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Taiga shouted, his head still out of the changing room.

"Yup. Like I said, take your time." She winked at them.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"   
Daiki watched the two with a deep frown as they left the shop, Tetsuya showing his thumbs up again.   
He huffed in bewilderment, walking over to Taiga to join him in the changing room.

"Do they know?" Taiga whispered as he noticed Daiki approaching him.

"I... No, how could they, but somehow..." he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"They couldn't have seen us, right?"

"Whatever, maybe they're just teasing us." The corner of his mouth twitched when he realized Taiga's head between the curtains that had the same color as his hair looked pretty funny.

"And even if they know, they're our friends and they'd be okay with it." He stretched himself, yawning in the process.

"Really?" Taiga seemed uncertain.

"Yeah, now let me in, it feels weird to speak with you through these curtains."

"A-alright..." Taiga hold the curtains aside from him. When Daiki walked in, he noticed the room was small and only made for one person, and since the two of them were bigger than average sized people, it was even worse.

"Damn, I'm feeling like I'm in that tiny cabinet in the Potions classroom again," Daiki cursed, almost hitting his head on a coat hanger while trying to hide the fact that his heart was beating faster at the close proximity. When he looked at Taiga, the latter one was staring at him with slightly reddened cheeks.   
Damn, this was so awkward...

"So, uh, how comes you don't know how to bind a tie," he tried teasing him, but just ended up blushing too.

"I've never worn something like that. In Durmstrang we just had this red uniforms with a heavy fur coat," he explained as Daiki watched his lips move in the dim light.

"Heh, it probably has fitted your hair color, I would've liked to see you wearing it," Daiki smirked, winning back his consciousness.

"What are you talking about... It looked stupid as hell if you ask me..." Taiga averted his gaze in embarrassment.

"I don't believe you..." He leaned a bit forward to snatch the tie out of Taiga's hand, their noses accidently touching. Daiki could see the redhead blushing even more at the contact.

"What about we just forget this stupid dress robe for a moment," Daiki suddenly said without thinking, decreasing the distance between the two a bit more.

"B-but we're inside a shop, Daiki, we can't just..."

"Oh come on, I've only kissed you once yet and I can't wait any longer... unless you really don't want to..." he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I guess I wouldn't mind..." Taiga hummed, staring at Daiki's lips for a second. Said one smiled at him before slowly leaning in, closing the distance between them completely. And again, although Daiki was sure it sounded sappy, it felt like sparks were exploding inside him. Taiga's lips were as soft as he'd remembered, slightly parting when they came in contact with Daiki's. He would've never imagined that it would feel this great to press his mouth against someone else's, but he didn't care the moment.   
Daiki just felt awesome right now, enjoying the new, somewhat exciting feeling.

He looped his arm around Taiga's back, his other hand sliding up to the back of his head, stroking through the red hair, bringing Taiga closer to him. The other finally responded, wrapping both his arms around Daiki's waist. As they began moving their lips against each other, he felt heat rising in his body, making him crave for more.

Unfortunately, they had to part in order to get air again, their breaths quickened and their cheeks red.

"This is amazing," Taiga murmured, his hazed eyes sparkling when he looked at Daiki.

"You mean I'm amazing," the other again tried to hide his embarrassment.

"Oh, shut up," Taiga rolled his eyes playfully before pressing his lips on Daiki's again. The latter one smiled into the kiss, hugging the other even closer. If someone would've told him he'd be in love with Taiga at the beginning of his sixth year, he damn sure wouldn't have believed it.  
But love was complicated, right?  
It could be the best feeling ever, but it could also be the worst.

Daiki couldn't care less, though, he felt like the luckiest man alive every time he looked into Taiga's eyes and knew the other liked him back. It went even that far he forgot the meaning of the saying being blinded by love.  
But all that mattered now was kissing Taiga, the one who he'd thought of would never allow him to even speak to him again. And there really was nothing that was more important for Daiki. Absolutely nothing.

He daringly licked Taiga's bottom lip, causing the other to shudder slightly. Daiki continued to use his tongue, but when he pushed it into the other's mouth, the redhead suddenly pulled back.

"Uhm..." he mumbled, looking aside.

"Hey, you okay? Since when are you so shy?" Daiki tried to ease up the situation by smiling and comforting Taiga's back.

"Y-yeah, sorry, I just... I'm not that confident when it comes to such things," he smiled back hesitantly, placing his hands on Daiki's arms.

"Maybe I should give you another love potion," Daiki joked, causing the other to chuckle.

"You better not, or who knows what will happen if I'm seducing a pervert like you."

"You are already..."  
Daiki wondered if they were flirting. They definitely were.

"Is that so?" he smirked, leaning his forehead against Daiki's.

"I can't help it... My brain is kind of stupid and a maybe a bit gay for you," he laughed, his fingers tracing the warm skin on Taiga's nape.

"Just a little bit?" he cocked one eyebrow.

"Well, I guess I can change that," Daiki whispered huskily, enjoying how Taiga's cheeks flared up once again.

"W-was that a confession?"

"Well... if you want to see it that way, sure..." he scratched his neck nervously.

"Alright... Uhm, does that mean we are... you and me, as a couple, uh... together..." Taiga stuttered and Daiki wondered how it was possible that both of them could go from self-confident teasing to shy in one second.

"As boyfriends? Yeah, why not...?" Daiki ended the sentence for him.

"So, you mean we're together now? For real?" Taiga blinked at him with big eyes and it somehow reminded Daiki of the day he'd asked him if they were friends. He could be pure as a young child sometimes.

"For real." He smiled, petting his new partner's amazingly soft hair.

"That's so cool! You're pretty cool!" Taiga hugged him tightly, laying his head on his shoulder and Daiki recognized once again that this was an entire else person than the one he'd seen the past few weeks.

"I know, I'm cool and pretty, but you're not that bad yourself," he smirked, returning the hug eagerly.

"I was just about to worship you and you destroyed it," Taiga chuckled nonetheless, placing a small kiss on Daiki's neck.

"Whatever, you know how I am, you'll eventually have to cope with it! And with me as your boyfriend you'll also have to bear with occasional make out sessions, holding hands and lots of cuddles!"

"So you're the type to cuddle?" Taiga laughed, the vibrations sending a warm tingle through Daiki's body.

"Yeah, there's nothing better than to feel your lover's body connected to yours, well, except sex maybe, but that will come later," he grinned a bit dirtily, almost laughing at Taiga's shocked expression.

"You're a pervert!"

"I know, but you're a virgin!"

"You're a virgin too, your ego is just worse than mine!"

"Alright, alright, Tiger, how about we finally get you into that dress robe before Satsuki thinks her plan to get us together worked?" Daiki tugged at Taiga's shirt to symbolize him to take it off.

"Right, or before the shop assistant is going to get suspicious," the redhead added, stripping the shirt over his head, grabbing the white top of the dress robe when he felt a hand on his abdomen.

"O-oi, stop that, Aho," Taiga tried slapping his hand away, but Daiki just smirked at him, letting his fingers ghost over his trained torso.

"Daiki, seriously, w-we're in a changing room!" the redhead reminded him of said fact, hoping that no one had listened to their conversation yet.

"But you're my boyfriend now, this is only natural," Daiki grinned, placing his hands on Taiga's pecs.

"Oh, damn, why have I even agreed to this?" he grumbled, trying to shove him away in one last attempt.

"Because I know you love me," Daiki answered the rhetorical question.

"Sure, man, but get your hands off me now before I'm kicking you out of the changing room because you're sexually harassing me," he groaned.

"You still need me to bind your tie, though..." Daiki flicked his thumb over one of Taiga's nipples.

"Can I lick them?"

"That's it, you bastard!!"  
Though he received a rather hard punch in the shoulder, it had been worth it.

"Alright, got it," Daiki hold his hands up with a smirk as he retreated. Taiga huffed embarrassed, buttoning up the shirt before reluctantly looking over to Daiki, wanting him to show him how to bind the tie around his neck.  
Of course he took his time tying the knot, not letting any choice slip to touch Taiga.

"You know this looks shitty, right?" the redhead deadpanned as the other was done.

"Come on, it's not _that_ bad. Satsuki can do it better anyways," he sighed, handing him the robe.

"You look fine, though," Daiki added after Taiga had pulled it over.

"If you think so..." the other hummed, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Yup. I approve, man. I wouldn't want you any other way at that damn Yule Ball, maybe without clothes would be even nicer, but-..."  
He got slapped in the face with Taiga's Gryffindor cape.

"I bet you can't even dance!" the redhead growled.

"You're fucking right, but I reckon you're not any better!" Daiki retorted.

"Oh, what if I am?"

"You're not!"

"We'll see about that, idiot!"

"Yeah, but only if you're gonna survive till December that is!"

"Challenge accepted!" Taiga grinned at him when they suddenly heard someone clearing their throat outside the changing room.

"I guess we better get out now..."

"I still have to change back," he stared at Daiki.

"Without you."

"Oh, no, please!" Daiki begged, grabbing Taiga's hands.

"You're getting out, now!" he commanded.

"Fine, Bakagami, no need to be so shy, though." He ruffled through his hair before placing a small kiss on his lips.

"I'm waiting right in front of those curtains then," he exited with a grin, still feeling Taiga's gaze drilling through his back.

"No peeping!"  
He got a laugh as an answer.

When they were about to pay their dress robes, they couldn't help to notice the slight glare the cashier was giving them, along with a few other frowning customers. Luckily, Daiki knew none of them, but unluckily, they all probably knew Daiki.

"You have a reputation, Mr Aomine," the cashier spoke as Daiki handed him the money.

"You better not let anything destroy it..." With that the wizard scowled at Taiga who was more than eager to finally leave the shop.

"Thanks, old man, I'll remember that." Daiki grabbed his robe that was laying on the counter and nodded at the redhead who followed him through the exit.

"You should be more careful, Mr Aomine," Taiga joked when the shop was out of sight.

"Not possible with you around...  
You should be honored to go out with such a famous personality like me, though," Daiki teased him, his arm around Taiga's shoulder once again.

"I guess I really should," the other smiled, surprising Daiki since he'd thought those words would rather cause him to call him an arrogant bastard. But then again, he was still in the middle of discovering Taiga.

"You got a reputation after all," the redhead mimicked the angry cashier, causing Daiki to laugh.

"That reputation can go to hell as long as I can make out with you in a changing room!"

"I hope you realize that a confession inside said changing room was super crappy..." Taiga chuckled.

"I can do it properly if you want me to. Got an idea for a romantic place?"

"Maybe the Shrieking Shack?" the redhead grinned and several students turned their heads to them in confusion as Daiki bursted into laughter.

"When I said take your time, I haven't meant an hour," Satsuki frowned at them, though with slight joy in her eyes when they met her and Tetsuya in a queue in front of _The Three Broomsticks._

"It was hard to find something that made Taiga look good, so we had to search for a looong time," Daiki lied with a grin, although he got jabbed in the side by Taiga.

"How cute that you were that eager to shop with him then," she teased him.

"Shut up... Also, doesn't seem like you two have managed to save us a spot," he noticed, the long row of people in front of them not becoming any shorter.

"Well, Hagrid has told me about a new sort of Butterbeer Madam Rosmerta sells for the first time today, so of course it's crowded," Tetsuya stated with a sigh.

"Not the best moment to search for a quiet nice place then?" Taiga hummed, scrunching his eyebrows.

"No, presumably not. But I know another pub where we can go!" Satsuki suggested as she excited the endless queue along with Tetsuya.

"Really?" Daiki asked.

"Yeah, just follow me!" she smiled and walked ahead, skipping happily in front of them. When Daiki looked at Tetsuya, he just shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

 

"Damn, that place really has to be off-roads!" Daiki huffed after a fifteen minutes walk where the crowded streets of Hogsmeade were slowly vanishing.

"Don't worry, it's right over there!" The girl pointed at a gloomy looking inn.

"What?! That doesn't look better than the Shrieking Shack!"

"There are no ghosts in there, right??" Taiga seemed a bit in panic.

"No, stupid! This place is just slightly cheaper than _The Three Broomsticks!"_ Satsuki rolled her eyes.

" _Slightly_ cheaper, you say?" Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, and stop frowning Dai-chan, it makes you look like an old man!"

"Uh, I'm not really sure about this..." Taiga admitted when looking at the wooden sign hanging over the entrance door.

_Wild boar's severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it._

Daiki could feel his boyfriend shuddering next to him.

"Let's go, guys, that's just supposed to scare you off!" Satsuki assured, opening the creaking door and stepping inside the seedy pub.  
Daiki looked over her shoulder just to see into a smoky room with minimal lightning.

"I have the feeling that this is a place where we shouldn't be..." Tetsuya whispered, but Satsuki shrugged it off.

"Don't worry, you have me, what could possibly happen?" She walked up to the counter where an old man was cleaning glasses with his wand.

"Four Butterbeer, please!" she ordered, cocking one eyebrow as she turned towards her friends who were still sneaking around in the entrance hesitantly. As they finally decided to join Satsuki, Daiki looked around, taking in the people sitting at the many tables in the room. When Taiga wrinkled his nose, Daiki just noticed the strong smell of something foul.   
The pub also seemed to attract rather interesting clientele as he studied the rather shady individuals. One half looked like werewolves, the other one like crazy gone wizards and witches. As he stared at the ground, he wasn't even able to spot the floor underneath all the dirt. He already saw Taiga tugging at Satsuki's sleeve, asking her quietly if they could just leave and go somewhere else. But the witch could be stubborn too, and when she was, they weren't able to do anything against it.

The old bartender placed four mugs of Butterbeer in front of them before continuing to wipe a glass that seemed to get even dirtier in Daiki's opinion. As if he knew he was watching him, the wizard looked at Daiki for a long time, bright blue eyes staring at him.   
He realized in bewilderment that they reminded him of someone, but he couldn't remember who.

"Dai-chan, are you coming?" Satsuki asked, already sitting at a table near a window with the others.

"Great window place," Daiki commented as he noticed the at least ten layers of dust sticking to the windowpane, making it unable for him to look through it.

"At least the Butterbeer was cheap," Tetsuya threw in, taking a sip from his mug but grimacing not a second later.

"By the way, Satsuki, do you know who the bartender is?" Daiki asked the girl, since he just couldn't explain why those eyes looked so familiar.

"Well, he's the owner of this pub, _Hog's Head Inn._ His name is Aberforth Dumbledore," she said like it was nothing.

"What?! This dude is Dumbledore's brother?!" Daiki spat out the Butterbeer in surprise, causing several customers to stare at him.

"Shhh!" Satsuki glared at him.

"But what the hell is he doing here of all places? I mean, Dumbledore is the greatest wizard alive, so..." he whispered.

"Just because they're brothers, they don't have to be the same, you idiot. I heard that he's not fighting anymore. He just gave up, I guess, he's not believing you'll make it."

"What the hell? So he thinks Voldemort will succeed in killing me and suppress the whole world?" he asked unbelieving.

"To your information, Dai-chan, he's definitely not the only one who's thinking that. Well, not everyone has the courage to keep fighting against his many followers..." Satsuki sighed.

"Weaklings..." Daiki just growled.

"Let's better change the topic," Tetsuya cleared his throat, still fighting with his Butterbeer while Taiga had finished his already.

"Right, damn that black hole over there," Daiki pointed at Taiga who was leaning back in his chair, smiling at the three.

"You can have mine if you want to." Seeing his chance, Tetsuya shoved his mug over to the redhead.

"Oh, thank you!"   
And the content was gone the next second.

"Uh... if you want to have mine too-..."

"No, don't give him more, he'll get sick!" Daiki stopped Satsuki from giving Taiga her Butterbeer.

"Since when are you so reasonable, Dai-chan?" she grinned.

"I... I still need him for quidditch..." he huffed.

"But seriously, how do you manage to endure that awful drink?" Tetsuya asked Taiga who was wiping his mouth.

"Is there something wrong with it?" he furrowed his brows.

"Ugh, something is _wrong_ with your sense of taste!" Daiki groaned, placing his head on the table before noticing that the surface was pretty dirty.

"You have a dead insect sticking to your forehead, Daiki," Tetsuya informed him with his monotone voice, causing Taiga to start cackling.

"Stop it, you damn glutton!" Daiki threw the fly (that looked like it had died on the table several weeks ago) at the redhead.

"Oh, shut up, it's not like I'm eating _everything!"_ he continued laughing.

" _Nearly_ everything!" Daiki replied.

"Keep it down a bit, guys!" Satsuki whispered and when Daiki turned around he noticed most of the customers looking at them, at _him_ to be precise.

"We should go," Satsuki stood up the same time three other people in the room did, still staring at the friends. She narrowed her eyes.

"If you got anything to say, then do so," she hollered, a warning hidden inside those words. Two of them sat down, but the third one walked over to their table. Daiki didn't know if he was more excited or scared when the tall wizard, covered in a black robe approached them. Even the bartender, Dumbledore's brother, stopped his actions, watching warily what was happening.  
Daiki noticed how Satsuki got ready to put out her wand, just in case, still the only one of them standing.

"You shouldn't be in such a place, Daiki Aomine," the man spoke with a rough voice, bending down to stare at Daiki's face. The latter one squirmed away, not able to look away from the scarred face of the wizard who smelled like he hadn't washed himself in ages.

"What do you want?" Satsuki asked sternly.

"Nothing," the man smiled, showing his yellow teeth, two of them were missing as Daiki noted.

"I'm an Auror, so of course I'm concerned about the boy who lives..."

"You don't seem like an Auror to me," Tetsuya dared to speak, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Huh? Almost didn't notice you there, plain kid," the wizard drawled.

"But I do have a proof I belong to the Ministry of Magic." He pulled out an ID card, showing it to them.

"This could be fake," Satsuki said, staring at the picture on the card, that only shared a few similarities with the man's face.

"It's not, I'm working undercover."

"If that's everything you gotta say, you can also leave us alone now," Taiga threw in, seeming like he didn't believe him one word.

"You're not telling me what to do, brat!" When he jerked around to look at the redhead, he suddenly stopped in his movement.

"No way!" he shouted as his eyes slightly widened before grinning crazily. Satsuki took out her wand the same moment the Auror grabbed Taiga by the collar, dragging him up from his chair.

"I've been searching you for three months now, you fucking maggot!" he hissed into Taiga's shocked face.

"Let him go!" Satsuki yelled, threatening him with her wand, but the man just ignored her.

"Never would've guessed you're hiding at Hogwarts, you piece of shit!"  
When Taiga began struggling, the Auror grabbed his hand and twisted it until a loud crack could be heard, along with a pained scream from the redhead.

"Stupify!" Satsuki shouted not a second later, but the wizard seemed to have quick reflexes. Taking out his wand in no time, he diverted Satsuki's spell. The same time, all the other people inside the room stood up, some of them hurrying through the backdoor, but most of them were watching from the corners of the room, whispering to each other. Even Aberforth had put the mugs and glasses he was cleaning down.

"One more move, and you're going to regret it," the Auror warned, moving his wand from Satsuki over to Taiga who was panting due to the pain, squinting his eyes together as sweat began forming on his forehead.

"What are you gonna do to him?!" Daiki shouted furiously while Satsuki and Tetsuya were staring at them in despair, weighing up their options.

"Oh, you know, Mr Aomine, it's been my biggest dream to take this rat to Azkaban!" he smirked, increasing the pressure on Taiga's hand as he tried to free himself, making him cry out again.

And instead of pulling out his wand like any other wizard or witch would do, Daiki just jumped out of his chair and tackled the man to the ground. Said one was surprised for a second, taking Taiga with him to the floor, but letting him go. The redhead had troubles to stand up, not able to use his left hand to support him. Satsuki quickly rushed over to him, standing in front of him protectively as he broke down to the ground another time. Meanwhile, Daiki was wrestling with the Auror, trying to hit his wand out of his hand, but failing when the man turned around and pushed him away, stumbling over to Taiga who was trying to crawl away.  
When Tetsuya put a leg on him, he fell again, but unfortunately grabbed Satsuki's cape, taking her down too.   
It was that moment someone shouted "Stupify!" and the Auror collapsed, blacking out the moment the spell hit him. Daiki turned around to see Dumbledore's brother with his wand aimed at the man, looking at him with an angry face.

"Everyone, get out!" he commanded and the watching crowd exited the inn immediately, their whispering growing even louder.

"Not you four!" Aberforth walked over to the friends, Daiki and Taiga still laying on the ground while Satsuki and Tetsuya were watching him nervously.

"It's always the same when someone picks a fight," he grumbled, pulling the Auror away by his shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'm taking care of this garbage." Letting the man fall down behind the counter, he tied him up with his wand before facing the four again. Daiki had managed to get over to Taiga who was still shaking, his hand sticking out in an unnatural angle. The redhead was whimpering while Daiki kneeled down next to him, trying to comfort him.

"This looks bad. Let's have a look at your hand first." Aberforth glanced at Taiga with worry before letting his gaze wander to Daiki.

"Mr Aomine, would you help your friend walk up the stairs to the sitting room?" he asked and Daiki nodded, supporting Taiga as he began getting up the stairs, his legs trembling.

As they got to the sitting room, Daiki helped the redhead laying down on the couch in front of the fireplace, Satsuki and Tetsuya following them concerned.

"This may hurt a bit," the old wizard murmured, starting to mumble a healing spell that was unknown to Daiki. Taiga hissed through his teeth sharply when his hand snapped back into his wrist.

"Alright kid, you should rest a bit when you're at Hogwarts again," Aberforth suggested and pocketed his wand again.

"Thank you, sir," Taiga muttered weakly, slowly sitting up.

"My name's Aberforth, like the pink-haired lady told you already, I'm the brother of your headmaster," he informed them.

"If you're really... But why are you here of all places?" Tetsuya asked, causing Aberforth to just shake his head.

"Don't come me with that, young man, my time is long over."

"Still, we're really grateful you helped us," Satsuki thanked him.

"Don't worry about that. And I also think this is not the last time we've seen each other." He looked at Daiki as he spoke those words and for the first time the latter one could see that the old wizard was related to Albus Dumbledore.

"Do you know the man who attacked us?" Tetsuya asked him.

"No, though I don't believe he was an Auror. But that leads me to another question," he stared at Taiga who was slowly calming down, his hand seeming to be alright again.

"I knew my brother is crazy, but that he's that insane to take Kagami's child to Hogwarts..." Aberforth furrowed his brows, looking over to Daiki.

"And that he's even hanging out with you, Mr Aomine. I'm probably not the first one who tells you this, but you should stay away from him."

"Why?" Daiki gritted his teeth.

"You don't know about his parents?"

"We do, but... Taiga is different! He's our friend!" Satsuki responded and the wizard nodded.

"Maybe he is, maybe he's not."

"Did... did you know my parents?" Taiga mumbled, staring down on his hand in order to not having to look at Aberforth.

"Yeah, I did. I once encountered your father, kid," he answered, gazing at Daiki again who was watching Taiga with compassion.

"A nasty guy, black-hearted and nearly obsessed with you-know-who. He belongs to the kind you don't want to encounter at night."  
The redhead curled up on the couch, not wanting to face his friends.

"That bastard almost killed me with a Cruciatus Curse when he'd barged in here, forcing me to tell him where my brother was. I still remember how he'd killed all the customers with one damn spell. When I heard he was dead, it was the first night I could sleep properly again," he related with a bitter voice.

"I'll never forget how-..."

"Could you... stop please?" Satsuki asked quietly, mentioning over to Taiga who was covering his ears.

"Sorry, I know you can't choose your parents," Aberforth patted Taiga's back before he went down the stairs without another word, disappearing behind the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately I won't be able to update next week because I'm on a school trip. But I'm going to keep it up ;)


	16. Unwelcome encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, seems like I accidently mixed up this chapter with the one before, but I fixed it now!! Sorry for the confusion!!  
> (⊙﹏⊙✿)

"Are you okay?" Daiki asked Taiga as they were making their way back to Hogwarts, leaving Hog's Head Inn behind.

"Yeah, thanks," the redhead muttered, his head hanging down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced you three to go in there," Satsuki placed one hand on Taiga's shoulder, rubbing it to comfort him.

"Don't worry, no one could have known that this would happen," he replied, continuing to stare at the ground.

"Can we cheer you up somehow?" Tetsuya asked him, but Taiga shook his head.

"I don't know."  
A heavy silence fell afterwards, until the redhead decided to add something.

"I'm sorry if I'm killing the mood. But... I somehow have the feeling that everyone hates me," he mumbled quietly.

"Hey, man, that's not true! You're our friend whatever happens!" Daiki threw an arm around him, pressing him slightly against his body in a soothing manner.

"Yeah, Dai-chan is right! It doesn't matter who your parents were!" Satsuki agreed and Tetsuya nodded.

"Thank you... Really... I'm so sorry I've been that much of an asshole the past weeks. You three are the best thing that ever happened to me..." Taiga's voice was quivering a bit towards the end.

"Don't worry about that. You're a great friend yourself, you-..."

"Oh, wait, you're not crying, are you?! Oh God, no, come on, everything's fine! You... Like Tetsu said you're a good friend and we're really happy you're with us!" Daiki interrupted Tetsuya as he suddenly noticed a tear rolling down Taiga's face. As if it was a reflex that told him to protect his boyfriend, he hugged him, petting the back of his head. Daiki felt how the redhead closed his arms behind his back, holding him against his body tightly.

"Thank you, Daiki..."  
His voice sounded so weak that Daiki felt bad for him. It probably wasn't easy for Taiga.

"Oh man, you guys..." Satsuki sighed with a light smile, embracing both of them, Tetsuya joining too.

"Come on, let's go back to the castle and get you into bed. You need to rest," Daiki suggested after a while, his hand gently rubbing Taiga's neck.

"Thanks..."

"Stop thanking us already, it gets creepy!" Satsuki laughed, causing Taiga to chuckle too which made Daiki feel like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.  
During the way they even managed to start a lighthearted conversation, trying to forget what happened inside the inn, though Satsuki promised she'd check up on the crazy guy who claimed to be an Auror since she remembered his name from the identity card. Daiki occasionally brushed his hand against Taiga's or placed it on the redhead's back as they went onwards.

They parted in front of the castle, Tetsuya informing them that he and Satsuki would visit Hagrid and that Daiki should take care of Taiga. Daiki of course rolled his eyes at Satsuki's giggling.

* * *

 

"You sure I should go to bed? It's still so early..." Taiga hummed as they were making their way up to the common room, dodging the many students that we're heading in the opposite direction. It wasn't the first time they got odd looks, everyone was wondering how they befriended each other that quickly again. Daiki grinned by the thought that no one knew they were even more than friends now.

"You've had a rough day, man. Aberforth said you should rest with your damaged wrist. That looked really ugly by the way..." Daiki responded, looking at the other with amusement.

"It did?" Taiga grinned.

"Yup. You got me real scared for a second!"

"And here I thought you were only caring about yourself..."

"Oh, you're mean! Is that what you think of the guy who confessed his love to you?" Daiki laughed after quickly making sure that no one was listening to them.

"Sometimes. At least _I'm_ the guy who stole your first kiss," he smirked.

"Well, then you can steal it as often as you want!"

"No problem there!"

They arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady who was blinking nervously as she saw the two.

"Abstinence," Daiki spoke the password, but the portrait wasn't swinging aside.

"What..." He furrowed his brows before groaning.

"Has the password changed again?"

"No, but..." The Fat Lady put her wine glass aside and bit her lip while fumbling with her pink dress.

"Then let us in," Daiki grunted a bit rude, causing her to clear her throat.

"Not like this, young man! Did no one told you how to be polite?"

"Oh no, cover your ears Taiga, she wants to sing..."

"She can sing?"

"No, she can't, that's the problem." Daiki already put his hands on his ears.

"What an absolute effrontery, you brat! I don't care if you're the great Daiki Aomine, but I _can_ sing. My voice is so remarkable that I managed to break my wine glass just with it!" she shouted, her cheeks red in anger.

"Yeah, after you smashed the glass against the wall behind you..." Daiki sighed.

"Could you let us in now?"

"Please?" he quickly added.  
The Fat lady turned her nose up, huffing offended.

"Since you were so impolite, you have to do something for me!"

"What the hell..." Daiki frowned at the portrait that was just supposed to let them inside the common room.

"What is it?" Taiga asked.

"Well, I was wondering..." She seemed to get a bit nervous again.

"I was wondering if you could kiss in front of me..." The Fat Lady blushed the same moment Daiki's and Taiga's jaws hit the ground.

"Wait, wait, wait, how the hell do you know?!" Daiki shouted, his cheeks reddening.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out since you came back with him one night under that invisibility cloak. Everyone who sneaks out at night just wants to get an opportunity to do something with their partner while no one is around," she responded smugly.

"No, no, no, it wasn't like that, we're not-..." Taiga quickly denied, but got interrupted.

"Don't even try, firehead, I'm not dense!"

"Whatever, we're not doing it, now go aside or I'll simply kick your picture in!" Daiki threatened her, but seemingly failed.

"Ha, you can't do that without getting into trouble, Mr Aomine!"

"What the fuck, no one even wants to see two dudes kissing!" he growled confused.

"I'd like to, and that's it!" She crossed her arms above her chest.

"But we can't risk getting caught!" Taiga threw in, already relieved that no one was around. The Fat Lady just continued to look at them, cocking one eyebrow.

"Alright, alright," Daiki grumbled, quickly turning to Taiga and pecking him on the mouth.

"Oh, that was too short... Maybe again with tongue?" she pouted.

"No! You promised to let us in!"

"Okay, okay, calm down firehead..." She rolled her eyes and revealed the entrance to the common room behind her.

"You two are boring," she added with a sigh.

"Damn these talking portraits," Daiki huffed in annoyance as they entered the dormitory.

"Do you need anything?" he then asked Taiga as the latter one laid down in his bed with a long exhale.

"No, stupid, it's not like I'm sick!" he laughed.

"Though it's nice of you to even offer me something since I heard you're not that nice to everyone," he added with a grin.

"Oh, shut up, you're something special, _firehead_!" Daiki sat down next to him, ruffling his hair.

"What a ridiculous nickname," Taiga snorted, starting to giggle as Daiki began tickling his stomach.

"I guess _Tiger_ fits you better," he grinned, enjoying how the other laughed and turned around to avoid Daiki's fingers. He eventually stopped and took his hand.

"Is your wrist really okay again?" he asked a bit concerned and Taiga nodded.

"Yeah, it feels a bit numb, but I guess Dumbledore's brother fixed it well," he answered.

"I'm glad," Daiki mused and let his lips brush over the back of his hand. He then bent down and placed them on Taiga's mouth. They were really lucky no one else was inside the dorm. The redhead responded eagerly, letting his hand slide up on Daiki's arm. The latter one moved his lips down, placing small kisses on Taiga's neck and sweeping his tongue over the soft skin. His boyfriend sighed contently and Daiki grinned as he began sucking on one spot.

"H-hey, no hickey!" Taiga warned him, pushing him away.

"Aww, come on, just a tiny one!" he smirked.

"No! What will everyone else think?"

"What about a place where no one can see it?" Daiki rubbed his cheek on Taiga's chest.

"F-fine..." the other blushed, turning away. Just when Daiki was about to pull up Taiga's shirt, Wakamatsu suddenly burst into the room, hurrying over to his bed before noticing the two who quickly parted. The blonde loudmouth looked at them in bewilderment.

"Eh? You two are good again?" he asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"Yeah, stupid, now get out again, you're annoying," Daiki grunted.

"No, Aomine, I won't let you order me around!" he immediately yelled with an angry face, rushing over to them.

Ugh, the volume of his voice was unbearable as always...

"Is he sick?" Wakamatsu asked when he fixed his gaze on Taiga who was still laying in his bed.

"No, I'm not, but thanks for your concern," the redhead smiled and Daiki frowned as he saw Wakamatsu blushing.

"Oh..."  
He then glared at Daiki.

"You don't deserve a friend like him, he's too nice for you!"

"Just get lost already."

"Ha, right I do, I can't endure your presence any longer." Wakamatsu turned around and opened the door to leave.

"See you in history of magic, Taiga," he smiled at him before exiting. Daiki frowned deeply. Was he just trying to annoy him? He looked over at Taiga who was playing with Daiki's hand.  
Wakamatsu shouldn't dare getting his fingers on the redhead, he'd make sure of it.

"What's wrong, Daiki? You're glaring at the door," Taiga snickered, shortly sitting up to hug his boyfriend.

"Nothing, you're just important to me," he responded, petting his red hair.

"I guess I'd like to spend the rest of my life with you," he added with a smile. He wondered if he'd said something wrong when Taiga suddenly tensed up.

"But... What about Satsuki and Tetsuya, they're important to you too, right?"

"What about them? Just saying you're even more important!" Daiki laughed a bit nervously.

"Still, you know them for years already and we just saw each other barely two months ago for the first time, and we even fought more than half of the time..." he murmured.

"Y-yeah, but what's your point? Like I said, you're special..." Daiki couldn't help but worry. Why did Taiga seem so down all of a sudden.

"I... I just think you shouldn't choose me over them..." He turned his head away as he laid back on the bed again.

"What... What are you talking about, Taiga? I like, damn, I freaking love you and I know you just like I know our friends, so don't say something like that!" Daiki grabbed Taiga's shoulder to turn him around. He looked at him with wide eyes.

"But what if not..." he mumbled quietly, averting his gaze.

"What do you mean?" Daiki asked softly, letting his hand rest on his shoulder.

"What if you don't know me?"  
Daiki stared at him for a few seconds.

"H-hey, Taiga, what's wrong? Of course I know you! Better than anyone else! You're not like your parents if that's what you're worrying about!" He furrowed his brows in concern, pulling his boyfriend back into his arms.

"Sorry, Daiki, I guess today is not my day..."

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

Taiga nodded, placing his head on Daiki's shoulder before taking a long breath.

"I... When I was younger I always thought it was a compliment to hear how everybody told me I looked so much like my father. To be honest I didn't even know what he and my mother were doing. I already told you how I thought myself that Voldemort was great..." He laughed bitterly before continuing.

"I never knew they were out there killing good people... They never told me, and now I'm always getting told by others who they really were. And that just... sucks."

"I understand," Daiki whispered, stroking his back.

"Yeah, maybe you do."

"Taiga, you're not like them."

"I don't know. I guess I'm scared I am, but I can't just deny the fact that they're my parents, right? And it's true that I resemble my father... in too many ways." Taiga hid his face, his voice so quiet Daiki almost couldn't hear him.

"Stop telling that yourself! I know it's probably hard for you and that it just makes it worse having to cope with people that are after you because of your ancestry! I mean, Voldemort is trying to kill me right this moment, don't forget all the death eaters. I reckon there are more people that hate me than like me. What I'm trying to say is be yourself, forget your parents.  
You are you, Taiga, and no one can take that away!"  
Daiki broke the hug to look at his face. Taiga seemed so lost as he stared back into Daiki's eyes, the latter one having his hands on his shoulders.

"I hope you're right. I'm sorry, Daiki," the redhead muttered, laying back once again.

"Don't worry about it. We can talk. About everything, you know? But it's on you to decide when you're going to tell me everything about you. Don't let me suffer too long, though," Daiki smiled to cheer him up, stroking Taiga's red strands out of his face. He nodded, closing his eyes as his boyfriend covered him with a blanket.

"Hey, Daiki?"

"Hm?"

"When I was in the hospital wing you were sleeping in my bed, right?"

"How do you know that?" His eyes widened slightly in surprise. Taiga smiled weakly.

"Dunno, just had the feeling you were here. Sorry for not recognizing how bad you regretted everything..."

"It's okay. What I did was wrong, every normal person would have avoided me for the rest of my life. Sorry for sleeping in your bed, though. Guess I missed you," Daiki grinned.

"To be honest, I once observed you with the invisibility cloak after that awful walk around the Great Lake..." the redhead hummed.

"Seriously? Oh wait, I remember one night where I felt like I was being watched!" Daiki admitted.

"That was you? For real? Man, I thought you'd hate me more than anything else!"

"Well, I think I missed you too..."  
Damn, Daiki was so happy his partner smiled again.  
That moment a small fur ball flew through the window and crashed on Taiga's blanket, leaving the two startled for a second.

"Quaffle!" Daiki shouted surprised, picking up the tiny owl that was trying to put her wings in the right place before chirping loudly.

"I told you to be more careful!"

Taiga chuckled by hearing Daiki scold the owl with a light smile on his face.

"Seems like she wants to see you!" He placed the animal on Taiga's chest where it hopped around. Though the redhead looked scared for a moment, he hesitantly petted Quaffle's head.

"Alright then, thanks, Quaffle," he laughed when the owl fluttered back into Daiki's hand. The latter one observed his boyfriend's beautiful face, his amazing smile. If there wasn't a high possibility of someone entering the room at any moment, he would've bent down to kiss him passionately.

"Uhm, I'm heading down to the kitchens to get food, do you want me to bring you anything?" he asked instead.

"Sure, whatever you can take with you," he responded, humming satisfied when Daiki let his hand rest on his cheek for a second.

"Then I'll be back in no time!" he grinned and stood up, ready to exit the dorm when Taiga hold him back.

"Daiki?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you teach me that spell that chased off the Dementors?"  
Daiki noticed that Taiga's eyes weren't as bright as they were at the beginning of this day.

"Of course. But you need to be happy for it," he answered.

"Why?"

"For the spell to work you have to think of your happiest memory. And of course that doesn't work if you had a bad day. How about I'll teach you when we're at Kuroko's during autumn holiday? Now that I remember we're going there next week."

"Okay, thank you!" Taiga smiled, causing the other to do so too.

"You've thanked me enough already. And now you better rest till I'm back!" He waved him a smirk before closing the door behind him.

Daiki went down the many stairs with a loud sigh that attracted a lot more of attention than he already had.  
Why did Taiga have to be so mysterious? Was his happy self just a facade? Did he perhaps have two personalities like Akashi?  
Daiki shook his head.  
No, that wasn't possible, he'd know that. Otherwise the Sorting Hat wouldn't have mentioned his good heart.

But he still wondered how Taiga could look so weak and inwardly destroyed after being able to give him his amazing smile.  
It still was a miracle to Daiki how he could fall in love with him. It even was a wonder he'd chosen him over Romilda Vane, though he surely wasn't a girl.

He'd also never thought of being gay before. It was rare at Hogwarts, Daiki didn't know anyone else who had a partner of the same gender. So it just never came to his mind and if he was honest, girls still appealed more to him than boys did.  
But then there was Taiga, grinning at him, bright like the sun, beautiful and kind. And with that Daiki's heart had been gone, beating for the redhead now who already owned it a long time before Daiki even knew he was in love with him.  
He was sure no one else could make him feel like he was in heaven when he had Taiga around him, his boyfriend.

 _Boyfriend._  
A pretty nice word, Daiki thought as his cheeks reddened slightly. So it was like that when you were in a relationship. Sometimes complicated, but mostly utterly pleasing.

"Heh, lost in your thoughts, Aomine?"  
The next moment Daiki received a whack on the back of his head as someone walked besides him.

"Get lost, asswipe," Daiki scowled as soon as he recognized Haizaki's ugly face.

"Oh, don't be like that! I'm just happy for you that you got your little pet back!" he sneered, glaring at the students around them in the corridor to make them leave.

"I said get lost," Daiki repeated in a not so friendly tone.

"Hm? But it's so much fun to tease you! Isn't it a wonder he came back to you even after you let him almost bleed to death?"

"Shut up!" Daiki yelled, squinting his eyes together, pictures appearing in his mind he didn't want to see ever again.

"Aww, you don't feel guilty, do you? Not possible! The great Daiki Aomine thinks of anyone else beside himself!" Haizaki made a posed surprised expression, making Daiki want to punch him right in the face. But he couldn't, not after Madam Hooch caught him once. He could forget quidditch if he'd do it again.

"Seems like he wasn't able to live without his owner, like a goddamn obedient puppy. Did he suck your dick yet? Or did you shove it up his ass?" he laughed disgustingly and Daiki really was close to just grabbing his head and smashing it into the wall next to him.

"Why don't you leave me alone, you fucking prick?!" He clenched his hands to fists. Haizaki just continued to laugh.

"Like I said, it's fun. By the way, you're after that girl, what was her name again, Romilda Vane, right? Well, I'm dating her right now..."

Daiki pressed his teeth together, narrowing his eyes at the Slytherin that was penetrating him.

"Why are you telling me this," he decided to hiss, trying to calm himself down which was not quite working.

"Oh, I wanted to suggest a little trade..." Haizaki smirked at him, his grey eyes full of meanness.

"How about I'll give you Romilda and you'll let the red-eyed freak to me..."

"What the fuck... You can't just do that to people! And what the hell do you want with Taiga!?" Daiki shouted angrily, failing in getting Haizaki's point.

"I can do everything I want. And well, I need a test subject for a few spells I made up myself. It's rather enjoyable to see that bastard suffer..." he mocked him.

"Oh yeah? Then watch out he's not gonna throw you against a wall again," Daiki countered viciously.

"I'll personally make sure that this won't happen," Haizaki narrowed his eyes, the playful tone in his voice gone.

"So, what do you say? You'll get the girl you always wanted and I'll get the freak to revenge myself a little. Come on, it sounds fair, right? Trading a pet for the big love of your life?" he added with an ugly smirk.

"How stupid are you to even think I'd agree to something crazy like that..." Daiki hissed slowly, causing Haizaki to cock one eyebrow.

"Heh? You don't want her anymore? Or is it that you're overprotective of your abandoned puppy all of a sudden?"

"If you continue to insult Taiga, I'll make sure you're going to regret it, asshole!"

"Oh, hey, what's up? So it seems like his adoration for you isn't one-sided? Damn, did you hit your head?" Haizaki laughed while Daiki began boiling inside.

"I hope Voldemort gets to kill you before you two are getting married... Ew, that would be really disgusting by the way, just saying. Why don't you both just kick the bucket and go to hell?"

"Leave me the fuck alone now!" Daiki was pretty done with him.

"Alright, alright, I'll even leave you time to think about the deal, am I not nice to such an awful human being like you?"  
Not expecting an answer, Haizaki turned around and walked away, not without squeezing his shoulder painfully.

Shit! Haizaki was such a bastard! The day had been so good in the beginning and now it seemed to go down another step.  
But unfortunately, it shouldn't stay by one unintentional encounter.  
Right before Daiki was about to enter the kitchens to finally get food, he noticed Akashi walking up to him, his face stern.

"Daiki."  
The thought of pretending he hadn't noticed him was thrown away.

"What's it?" Daiki turned around, expectantly not in his best mood when he faced the next Slytherin crossing his way. At least Akashi was _mostly_ friendly towards him, though he looked slightly offended right now.

"I told you to stay away from him and now you're best buddies with him all of a sudden?!"

Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Not that again! What's your problem, he's cool. We just had a small conflict and now everything's fine again," he grunted, holding back from glaring at the short Slytherin.

"I'm not talking about your little fight. You should stay away from him in general, he's not good for you," Akashi replied, trying to lock eyes with him.

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm saying it."

"No, seriously." Daiki straightened up, towering over Akashi but he had the feeling the other wasn't at least a bit intimidated.

"Just name me the fucking reason! People always tell me I should keep away from Taiga, but no one ever says why. You're not any different. So either you're gonna spit it out now or I'll just go because I'm not letting anyone tell me who I'm allowed to befriend, alright?"  
Daiki saw how Akashi's eyelids twitched when processing the rather rude words. He knew no one normally dared talking to him like that.

"Ever had the thought he's coaxing you into something? Waiting for you to trust him blindly before revealing his true intentions? Have you ever considered his way too friendly attitude as a trap?"

"Get to the fucking point!" Daiki hissed instead of answering. The other huffed offended, narrowing his different colored eyes.

"Fine, Daiki. The _point_ is I know more about him than you do. And what I know is everything but positive. Of course he's trying to hide it, but everyone makes mistakes. Never asked him about that fight with his _brother?_ Or have you shrugged it off as nothing?"

"Then what the fuck is he hiding?! If you just keep insulting him with those meaningless accusations you better get lost!" Daiki yelled, completely done with literally everything.

"Careful, Daiki. You better watch your mouth," Akashi warned him.

"Oh yeah? You're seriously telling me to keep away from Taiga, but you're threatening me yourself?! You're definitely the friend I need! The truth is you're not even half as good as Taiga!" Daiki growled, his pulse raising for the second time this day.

"Is that so? I won't tell you then. Maybe you'll find out yourself if you observe him, but I don't think he's going to tell you about the few secrets he's still hiding. And when you'll finally find out, I'd like to see your face because you'll come back to me then, regretting the choices you made, the choice to keep following him." Akashi remained calm.

"Bullshit!" Daiki spat.

"Whatever it is, he's going to tell me, I'm sure of it, I'm his best friend, so quit that damn nonsense!"

"Oh, right, friendship... What a trustworthy thing. Tell me Daiki, are you just naïve or stupid?"

Daiki gritted his teeth furiously, making him say something he probably shouldn't have said.

"What if I'd tell you we're more than friends...?"  
He almost watched with satisfaction how Akashi's eyes widened in surprise at those words. The corner of his mouth flickered once before he caught Daiki's wrist in a tight grip.

"You better get a hold of yourself, Daiki, or else your future isn't going to be as bright as you'd like it to be! Just stay on the damn right side!" Akashi hissed dangerously, causing Daiki to shudder for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Leave me alone," he muttered, freeing his hand forcefully before walking away without another word, his original destination, the kitchens, long forgotten.


	17. Lies and Truths

When Daiki returned to the dorm after getting the remnants of today's dinner, he noticed that Taiga was sleeping. He smiled as he sat down next to him, placing the plate with food on the nightstand. The redhead looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, Daiki could watch him for hours. Taiga would probably tell him he was a creep if he'd ever admit that.

Although he felt happy when looking at his boyfriend, he couldn't help but recall Akashi's words. That there was something else about Taiga. He knew he was still hiding something and Daiki definitely _was_ curious to find out. The problem was he couldn't just ask him or squeeze it out of him after he'd told Taiga it was on him when to tell him about the things he didn't know yet.

_"Maybe you'll find out yourself if you observe him."_

He'd never considered his curiousness as a weakness before. Daiki squinted his eyes. He really should wait for Taiga to tell him everything, to tell him why everyone wanted them apart. But otherwise the fact that he was hiding it from Daiki would mean that it was something that could possibly destroy their relationship. There was no other reason why Taiga shouldn't open up to him.

Daiki remembered how Dumbledore told him to wait, and he even knew himself that it would be the worst to force it out of his partner. The last thing he needed was a relapse from those horrible weeks.  
He turned to Taiga, watching how his eyebrows slightly twitched in his sleep. Daiki carefully placed one hand on his cheek, letting his thumb graze over the skin underneath his closed eye. He groaned as his heart began fluttering. Damn, he was really lovestruck...

Taiga grumbled in his sleep, blinking a few times before smiling and placing his hand on Daiki's.

"Hey there, you hungry?" Daiki grinned, handing him the plate with Teriyaki burgers.

"Oh! Thank you! Did that House-elf, uh, Dobby make these again?" he asked with a grin as he took one and bit into it.

"Yeah, I guess. You've overslept dinner by the way, that's everything I could grab," Daiki laughed as the other tried his best to keep the burger in one piece.

"Woah, then I must've slept for at least an hour if it's that late! What took you so long? Didn't you want to go to the kitchens?"  
Daiki grimaced at the question, huffing in annoyance.

"I got hindered by that bastard Haizaki and shortly after even by Akashi..." he groaned. Taiga furrowed his brows.

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Ugh, you know, the usual; Akashi doesn't want us to be friends and Haizaki is just fucking around like always. That idiot wanted me to trade you for Romilda Vane..."

"Wow, okay, that's weird..." Taiga frowned after he'd devoured his third burger.

"Yeah, he wants to test curses on you. Seems like he didn't take it well that you made him kiss the wall that day..."

"Ugh, then I'm happy you didn't agree to that deal!" Taiga responded, but suddenly had to cough heavily as he'd accidently choked on the food.

"Jeez, you have to chew before swallowing! Seriously, you're always eating like you don't know how to, you black hole!" Daiki grumbled playfully, patting his boyfriend's back.

"Oh, shut up! You're not better when it comes to Teriyaki burgers! Also, cheeseburgers would've been nice too," he responded with a smug expression, wiping his mouth.

"Hah? Be happy I like you that much to even bring you something!" Daiki grunted, pretending to be about to take the plate away from Taiga.

"Well, you just love me too much to let me starve," Taiga teased him, grabbing the next burger when Daiki suddenly noticed something.

"Hey, were you out of bed when I wasn't here?" he asked with a frown, taking Taiga's hand and examining the small scratch on its back that hadn't been there before.

"Uh, no... Why?" Taiga blinked at him, causing Daiki to narrow his eyes.

"That scratch wasn't there before."  
Taiga furrowed his brows.

"It was. It probably came from the fight inside the inn," he replied.

"Uh, no, there really was nothing when I asked you if your wrist was fine before I went down, I'm sure of it!" It felt wrong for Daiki to laugh, but was Taiga just messing with him? Because he was really sure the wound hadn't been there when he'd kissed his hand.

"Haha, no, seriously it's from that incident. You just didn't notice before." Taiga began laughing too, but it sounded awkward and nervous.

"Come on, I really would've seen it if it had been there!"

"Daiki, why are we even fighting over something stupid like this. Believe me, it's from earlier," Taiga spoke with a calm voice, smiling at his boyfriend.  
Daiki knew it was useless if he'd contradict once more now because it would possibly lead them to fighting seriously in the end.

"A-alright, guess I imagined things then. And you're right, that scratch is tiny so it's easy to miss..." he gave in, though his mind screamed that something was wrong here.

"Don't worry, but if you want to kiss me, you have to hurry before the others come back from dinner," Taiga grinned at him and Daiki's eyes widened for a second as he realized how much influence his smile had on him. Damn, was he that easy to control?

"If you're that eager, of course," he mused, bending down and locking their lips. He shouldn't bother about small things like that, their relationship was more important to Daiki.  
His hand found its way under Taiga's shirt as he caressed his abs. The redhead seemed more passionate than usual, nibbling on Daiki's bottom lip before licking it daringly.

"You're amazing, Daiki," he hummed as they parted for air.

"I know," he smirked.

"Alright, I'm taking it back," Taiga snickered.

"Hey!" Daiki kissed him again, effectively stopping Taiga from chuckling.

"I wish we could do this all day," he then smiled, his eyes soft.

"Yeah, me too," Daiki sighed, quickly distancing himself from the redhead as he heard the door being opened.

"Huh?" A confused Furihata stuck his head through the door, paling as he saw the two.

"Why are your faces so red? Y-you didn't fight, did you?!"  
Daiki rolled his eyes.

* * *

 

"Good morning, you two sleepyheads! You almost missed breakfast," Satsuki nagged as Daiki and Taiga let themselves fall down onto their chairs at the Gryffindor table with tired groans.

"It's a new day, we have to achieve something!" she continued, full of energy like always.

"How's your wrist, Taiga?" Tetsuya asked, slurping his special ordered vanilla shake.

"Fine," he yawned, missing his glass as he tried filling it with pumpkin juice.

"Gah, why do both of you always fail in getting enough sleep?" Satsuki sighed, wiping off the spilled juice with her wand.

"Dunno, Hogwarts is exciting," Taiga muttered.

"He's exciting," Daiki added only half awake, nudging the other's shoulder with his own.

"Oh, well, that's nothing new," she giggled.

"Goddamnit, Satsuki, gimme five minutes..." He placed his head on the table, forcing himself to wake up while Tetsuya shook his head.

Daiki really had had difficulties to fall asleep yesterday. He just couldn't get Akashi's words out of his head and he hated himself for once thinking: _What if he was right?_  
But that couldn't be, not after everything that had happened, not after everything they'd told each other. Daiki refused to doubt Taiga's intention towards him, he wasn't how Akashi described him.

Taiga was kind, loving and good-hearted. He _knew_ that. It was Daiki's fault alone that had made him act like another person for several weeks, and now, after that night with the Dementors, they even were in a relationship which felt awesome!

But Taiga had lied to him.  
The scratch hadn't been there before.  
And though this was just a tiny issue, Daiki couldn't help but be disappointed. It was even worse than the time were he'd first lied to him about a book he claimed to have to hide inside the Room of Requirement. It hurt that Taiga still didn't trust him enough to tell why he went there and what he had been doing.  
And that assured his thought that his boyfriend was hiding something that would, _definitely_ would destroy their relationship.

Daiki had collected the facts that night.  
Taiga went to the Room of Requirement on a regular basis, about three times a week, always telling the others he had something to do.  
But why was he there?  
He knew from Dumbledore's Pensive that the old wizard himself knew along with the Hogwarts staff that Taiga was going there. Now that Daiki had thought about it, the conversation  in Dumbledore's office couldn't have been just about the assumption that Taiga could be dangerous because of his parents' reputation and general background.  
There still had to be something else.  
Something Daiki was missing.

_"Maybe you'll find out yourself if you observe him."_

He should've asked him about that fight with Himuro and why exactly he had to change to Hogwarts.  
But now that he told him to take his time in telling him everything, Daiki couldn't ask in risk of destroying even more trust.  
And he _did_ believe in Taiga to tell him soon. He was his best friend after all, and his lover. Daiki knew the redhead was reliable.

"Alright, Dai-chan, listen! I've got a task for you today," Satsuki informed him, hitting him with her wand to get his attention.

"Oh God, no!" he groaned, his head slumping back on the table.

"Yes, my dear. Last night, the perfect plan to get the book came to my mind!" Satsuki announced with sparkling eyes.

"What book..."

"Huh? You're still after it?" Taiga asked, ignoring Daiki's grumbling.

"Hell yeah, and Dai-chan is going to be the key to get it!"

"What? Why me?!"

"Remember when I told you that you need permission from a teacher to get a book from the Restricted Section? And now recall who's admiring Dai-chan to no ends!" Satsuki grinned, waiting for one of her friends to respond.

"Woah, wait, Slughorn?!" Taiga assumed.

"No, please not, that guy is fucking annoying!" Daiki grumbled.

"Think about it, Daiki, you already got him wrapped around your fingers. If you agree to pay him a small visit in his office, you'll surely get the permission for the book," Tetsuya explained.

"I don't know if that's going to work..." he frowned.

"It is! Just be honest and tell him you're concerned about the Time-Turner, so you want to know more about Durmstrang. He'll understand it, I'm certain of it," Satsuki replied.

"Alright, let's say he gets the book, what are we going to do next?" Taiga asked while Daiki was still grumbling and staring into his cup.

"We're going to Tetsuya's house next week where the Order of the Phoenix comes together for one evening! I'm not sure if they let us be part of their meeting, but we got a few tricks to at least overhear their conversations. Plus, the others, including Ki-chan, Midorin, Mukkun and Akashi are going to be there too! It's the perfect time to involve them in our plan!" she explained with a bright smile.

"Wait, who?" Taiga furrowed his brows.

"She means Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara and Akashi," Daiki rolled his eyes at the stupid nicknames the girl gave everyone.

"But why are they even there too?" he added with a groan.

"Oh, Dai-chan, have you forgotten? Their parents are members of the Order of the Phoenix too, stupid!"

"Right..."

"Uhm, can I come with him to get the book?" Taiga asked Satsuki.

"Ah, Taiga, don't you want to keep my company too from time to time? Dai-chan can do this alone, and I'd like to discuss a few things with you," she denied, grinning at him.  
Daiki rolled his eyes again. The girl would probably torture his poor tiger with awkward questions, presumably about their current relationship since not everyone was as dense as they wouldn't notice how close the two always were physically.

"Uh... wait, I'm going to Slughorn today?" Daiki yawned.

"Yes, Daiki, and you're going right now." Tetsuya stared at him with his big blue eyes.

"Ugh, you're really no fun. See you later then," he grumbled and stood up after finishing his breakfast, ruffling shortly through Taiga's hair before leaving.

When Daiki brushed his teeth, he looked into the mirror just to see his tired face along with dark bags under his eyes. Great. And he'd hoped this to be a relaxing Sunday. He'd originally planned to go somewhere with Taiga alone, maybe a secret place no one knew. They could do that in the evening or even sneak out at night. But then they wouldn't get any sleep at all and Daiki already looked like a living corpse. No wonder he had to think about what happened yesterday that hard. He wished he could forget all of this and just be together with Taiga happily, without the lies and secrets. Daiki knew he'd never let go of the redhead whatever happened or still happens, at least he hoped so.

Damn, he wanted to touch him, to kiss him. Taiga was so amazing, his warm skin, his smile, his beautiful eyes, his soft hair, his deep voice, the rare and quiet moans that would escape his lips when they kissed... Daiki could go on and on, not knowing how many times he'd thought like that already, having lost count due to his mind being filled with his boyfriend.

It was too bad Hogwarts was not a good place for lovers, especially not for a couple like them. Two boys, that sure was unusual and not as easily accepted, not everyone was like Satsuki or Tetsuya who he was sure of were approving of them if they came out. For most people it probably was disgusting, unsettling and disturbing and not for the first time of his life, Daiki wished he'd be like every other student, not a celebrity that everyone was watching. There were always people that observed or nearly stalked him. Everyone would make a fuss about it if someone found out about him and Taiga.  
Even though it sounded stupid, it could have effects on the whole wizarding world.

The boy who lived was gay.  
He knew how easily that could destroy people's impression of him and he also knew that not everyone would be willing to believe in him anymore.  
The thought made him sad, it would be so wonderful to just tell the world he was in love with Taiga, to be able to hold hands with him in public.

But the world wasn't this way. He'd never had it easy before, so why should there be a change now.

"Mr Aomine, you've been standing in front of me for over five minutes with your toothbrush still in your mouth without moving! And if you haven't noticed it yet, the toothpaste has been dropping on your robe for a while now!"

Daiki almost jumped up to the ceiling by hearing those words. Hell, that almost gave him a heart attack! Damn those talking mirrors!  
He spat his toothbrush into the sink, letting it stay there even though the mirror began protesting that this was not a good behavior and disrespectful towards the others who were using this sink. Daiki ignored it, making his way out of the bathroom, he had a mission today: Get the damn book to shut Satsuki up.

* * *

 

"Oh, Daiki! What a pleasant surprise, come in, come in!" Professor Slughorn began smiling like a kid on his birthday as soon as he saw it was Daiki knocking on his door. The latter one almost expected the teacher to not be there or refuse to open the door since it was Sunday and no one wanted to be disturbed. But it seemed like Daiki's name or even his face was literally opening doors.

"I'm so happy you're visiting me, please take a seat!" Slughorn assigned him to a rather comfortable looking armchair.

"Do you want to drink anything?" he asked, already pulling out his wand to direct a teapot on the small round table between their seats.

"Uh, no thanks..." Daiki denied, sinking into the cushioned back of the armchair.

"Sure, whatever you want, Daiki," Slughorn laughed, not stopping the teapot from pouring tea into two cups.

"Alright then, what do you want to talk about? You're surely not here without a reason." He laughed again as he sat down, taking a sip from his tea.

"Ah, that's right, I... I would like to ask you if you could do a favor for me," Daiki tried to express his words as polite as possible like Satsuki told him.

"Oh, that would be an honor! Just spit it out, Daiki!" Slughorn grinned excitedly and Daiki finally got convinced that getting the book with the professor's help wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Well, I thought you're the one who would understand me the best when I say I'm concerned about the things that are going on, especially Voldemort and the Time-Turner," Daiki said after thinking through his words once again. To flatter someone was always a good method.

"There you may be right! I can totally understand your reasoning for wanting to know more. Honestly, unlike the other teachers I think you're the first one who should know about everything that's going on, it's ineffective to hide it all just because you're still a child. I don't know, maybe they don't want you to get strained emotionally because of constant fears, but that's stupid. I'm repeating, _you_ should be the one that's best informed because you're directly involved in practically everything!" Slughorn emphasized and Daiki just nodded, having only listened to half of it.

"Thanks, professor. Uh, and since I heard the Time-Turner is at Durmstrang, I wanted to research the school itself, just to see if there are further information or if there's a possibility that Voldemort can get the Time-Turner without many problems." Daiki saw Slughorn nodding with a serious face while he spoke, pushing his confidence for the next sentences.

"Unfortunately, there are not many books about Durmstrang and when I finally found one it belonged to the Restricted Section. So I was wondering if I could lend it out with your permission."

"Mmhh, the Restricted Section?" Slughorn frowned and Daiki bit his lip nervously.

"If that's what is needed then of course. The more you know about your enemies, the better!" He nodded more to himself, smiling at his decision.

"Alright, I'll write something for Madam Pince then." With that he let a sheet of paper fly over to their table, along with a quill that moved on its own, signing with Slughorn's signature.

"Thank you, professor," Daiki said as he received the letter, pocketing it in his cape.

"No problem, my boy, but I also have to talk with you about something."

"Ah... Okay...?" Daiki had been about to stand up from his seat and leave as quick as possible when the teacher hold him back. He wondered if there was something he'd done wrong, it usually was like that when a professor wanted to talk to him. But when he looked at Slughorn, he noticed that the latter one looked rather nervous than serious, making Daiki curious.

"So, I get that you want to have the book because it concerns the Time-Turner, but I have the feeling that this is also about your friend, Mr Kagami."  
Daiki's brows twitched in surprise. It sure hadn't been his intention to get to know more about Taiga with the help of the book, but by second thought, he could as well hear Slughorn out since the professor knew something about the redhead that definitely was unknown to Daiki. He recalled the conversation that had been held in Dumbledore's office, Slughorn had been there too.

"Well, he's a bit... secretive," he said, hoping to pull the right string.

"Oh yeah, he is, he is. I can't blame him though, poor boy," Slughorn responded with a frown that made him look a bit confused like always.

"Why?" Daiki felt his heart beating faster.

"He hadn't had it easy, just like you. You already heard about his parents, I guess?"  
He nodded when Slughorn looked at him.

"A tragic story. He has to cope with all the prejudices against him, just a few people recognize his good sides. It's a surprise you two came together, I have to admit that." He blinked at Daiki, seemingly expecting an answer.

"Uh... yeah, I guess so..." He scrunched his eyebrows as the teacher continued to stare at him.

"It really took me time to think through it, but it's alright, Daiki! I'll support you in everything you're doing!"

"...Excuse me, sir...?" He stared at him in bewilderment, not getting Slughorn's point.

"Well, aren't you two together? As a couple?"  
Daiki froze for a moment, the words scaring him. How did the professor find out? He hadn't done anything obvious with Taiga in public! Right?!

"N-no... What makes you think that, sir?" Daiki asked after having collected himself.

"But Daiki, my boy, I'll never forget how the two of you were making out inside my favorite cabinet!" he stated with a serious face.

"Ah, wait! We _really_ weren't doing that, we already told you so... sir! We only wanted to search a Potions book for Taiga when you and professor Snape entered the classroom!" Daiki quickly defended himself, the blood rushing into his face.

"You weren't...?" Slughorn repeated quietly.

"Then I'm sorry, Daiki, though I have to admit I'm rather facilitated. I can imagine a relationship with Mr Kagami is not going to be easy, even without mentioning his parents' reputation."

"Is that so...?" he asked with a frown, wanting the professor to continue talking.

"I don't think I'm allowed to tell you more..."  
Daiki's excitement vanished all at once.

"But..."  
And it was there again.

"I really have the feeling you should know that about him, although I've been warned to tell anyone about Mr Kagami. But like I said, it's _you_ who's involved in everything and you should be informed... So if you promise me to conceal this in front of Albus..." Slughorn's nervousness grew as he started repeating himself, fidgeting with his wand.

"I promise!" Daiki immediately blurted. He was so close, so fucking close!  
The professor nodded, seeming to collect his thoughts for a moment.

"It... It already has been a secret at Durmstrang as far as I know, at least it was meant to be a secret. Mr Kagami couldn't hide it as good as he can now and of course his friends knew it. You know one, right Daiki? Tatsuya Himuro who he even referred as a brother.  
But I also heard from Albus that Mr Kagami has been a bit uncontrollable back at his old school. Rumours were told about him and he got discriminated often, it even happens to him here at Hogwarts when he gets told to stay away from you or the other way around..."  
Daiki could hear his own heartbeat, waiting for Slughorn to finally spit it out.

"Now that I tell you, I hope you're not going to see him in a different light like everyone else, Daiki. Maybe you've already suspected it... but Mr Kagami is..." Slughorn grimaced at searching the right words.

"He's not completely human. A Half-breed you can say, although the term is rather pejorative."

Daiki blinked, his eyes slightly wide in shock as he processed the teacher's last sentence.

"A... Half-breed...?" he asked slowly, Taiga's face in front of his eyes, smiling like always, absolutely nothing divulged something that was not human about him.

"But he's... not different from anyone else, he's not..." The moment Daiki spoke those words he knew they weren't true. He remembered that Taiga had been different after their fight, it even had scared him, especially his eyes that had somehow lost their kindness and good sense in these weeks. There'd been nothing but aggression.  
And of course Daiki wondered what it was that had changed him.

"He's good at hiding it, I just said so. I even hate myself for saying this, but please watch out when you're around him, Daiki. Sometimes he can't do anything against his instincts," Slughorn responded, taking in Daiki's reaction.

"What instincts? What exactly... is he...?" he stuttered a bit lost. Slughorn closed his eyes.

"You really should ask him yourself. It would be disrespectful if you'd hear it from me."

"But-..."

"I mean it, Daiki! It's something Mr Kagami had to cope with his entire life already and he still suffers because of it. I can't tell you more."

"Okay," Daiki muttered, giving up to force the professor to give him further information. If he was honest, what he got to know was enough to process for a while.


	18. What to do inside a library?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the chapters seem a bit boring now, but I promise a lot of things will happen soon ;)

"Daiki, what's wrong? You're seeming a bit off."

"Huh?" Daiki snapped out of his thoughts as he was staring at Taiga, the latter one grinning at him. He'd felt a bit weird since he'd exited Slughorn's office and remet with his friends.   
Taiga was a Half-breed.   
That thought was constantly blocking his mind, making it unable for him to concentrate on something else.  
A Half-breed...

Daiki was looking at him as if he could find a hint by staring long enough at him. But Taiga was like always, though he began blinking in confusion when the other still seemed to be absent. 

"Daiki?"

It wasn't like Half-breeds were rare. He knew that Hagrid's mother had been a real giant, making him a Half-giant. Daiki had also heard from someone that professor Flitwick was a Part-goblin, that's why he was so small. Satsuki once told him that Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons was a quarter Veela, but other than that, Daiki knew no one who had a non-human parent. It probably was hard for them to go to school without being discriminated, just like Slughorn said, and not many Half-breeds could become wizards or witches.

But what was Taiga?  
He normally seemed so human that Daiki was struggling to believe Slughorn's words. He could probably guess the species, the problem was that there were so many and he didn't really knew anything about Half-breeds.  
He could probably ask Satsuki about them, but she'd ask him why and then he'd have to explain himself and-...

"Ouch!"

Satsuki had hit him, once again this day.

"Jeez, what's wrong with you today?! Have you at least gotten the permission from Slughorn?" she asked him a bit annoyed.

"Sure," he huffed, feeling Taiga's leg nudging his own under the table. Daiki pulled the letter out of his pocket, handing it to Satsuki.

"Great! Next stop, library!"

"Oh, God..."

In the end the girl forced all of them to accompany them to hell, at least in Daiki's eyes, to finally carry out their plan. But it wasn't like he could really concentrate on what they had to do now since the talk with Slughorn was bothering him. He looked over at Taiga from time to time, more often than usual and not just because he liked to see the other's handsome face.

"You alright?" the redhead asked him with knitted eyebrows, having noticed that Daiki was lost in his thoughts.

"Yeah," he muttered, looking up into his eyes.  
Red.  
Not a normal eye color at all. Had his pupils been slits back then when Taiga had been angry at him or was Daiki just imaging things now?

When they arrived at the library, Satsuki showed Slughorn's letter to Madam Pince with the biggest grin on her face. The older witch squinted at the piece of paper before reluctantly opening the Restricted Section and searching after the book. Satsuki began skipping in excitement when she finally held it in her hands, Daiki could almost see sparkles flying around her.

"Great, guys! This is it! We are one step closer to saving the wizarding world!" She usually only squealed like this when Tetsuya agreed to do something with her or when Daiki's and Taiga's hands would brush accidently when they were walking.

"Uhm, so are we having a look at it...?" Tetsuya asked because the girl seemed like she was never going to let go of the book.

"Well, not this openly. We'll do that together during autumn holiday at your house, alright?"

"Fine by me..." Daiki hummed.

"Nice. Well then, I have to excuse myself. You know, private lessons..." She waved at them before walking away happily, leaving them alone.

"Wow, she's... energetic," Taiga stated a bit impressed.

"I bet she's gonna read the damn book in one go tonight," Daiki sighed, noticing from the corner of his eyes how Tetsuya nodded in agreement.

"I'm leaving too. I promised to help a few first graders with their homework," the short wizard informed them, going after Satsuki.

"Funny how we're alone in the library, right?" Taiga laughed, directing his gaze at Daiki.

"Right," the other murmured, watching how the redhead walked towards a more secluded area of bookshelves where not so many students were, waiting for Daiki to follow him.

"Daiki, is there something that's bothering you?" Taiga gently placed his hand on his boyfriend's cheek after making sure no one was around to observe them, looking at him with worry in his eyes.

Yes.  
"No..."

"Daiki, please talk to me!" Taiga came closer and Daiki really hated himself for flinching when the other moved his hand to caress his cheek.

"Why don't you talk to me instead..."  
He shouldn't have said that. He regretted it the moment Taiga's hand was leaving his skin, a look mixed between guilt and despair appearing on his face. Daiki's self-loathing increased, his partner's expression making him want to hug him. It was always like that when Taiga was looking at him with those lost eyes, silently searching help and warmth from another person, mainly him.

"I'm sorry, Daiki..." the redhead whispered, squinting his eyes together. He almost looked like he was about to cry or maybe just his facial expression was enough for Daiki to just wrap his arms around his boyfriend without second thought, the hug almost happening on reflex.

He allowed himself to shortly lay his head on Taiga's warm chest, hearing his heartbeat. It was a bit fast, but Daiki's always was the same when they were touching each other.

"I'm sorry..." he repeated.

"Okay," Daiki just answered.

"Take your time." He forced a smile out of him that grew into a real one when Taiga returned the smile.

"I... I have to go down now, promised Furihata and Wakamatsu to talk with them about quidditch," the redhead changed the topic after quickly ending the hug when seeing Madam Pince walking by a few feet apart.

"Really..." Daiki murmured, scrunching his brows since he knew this was just another excuse for Taiga to vanish into the Room of Requirement.

"It's not a lie." The redhead seemed to have read his thoughts.

"I'm not lying to you, Daiki," he smiled.

"Trust me. You can even join us if you want to."

"I'm thinking about it. Thank you." Daiki hoped Taiga knew the "thank you" wasn't for his invitation but for his honesty.

"Bend down a bit," the redhead whispered and when Daiki did so, he felt a pair of lips resting on his forehead for a short moment before he saw Taiga almost darting out of the library with a big smile on his face.  
Daiki blinked bewildered, the spot on his forehead tingling as he still felt the sensation of the small kiss.

He realized later on he'd been standing next to the same shelf without doing anything for at least three minutes, just staring at the door where Taiga had left. Damn, he really should keep an eye on Wakamatsu that annoying bastard. Daiki couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy hit him, although he had no reason to be jealous. Taiga belonged to him, the only problem was that no one knew that.

Anyways, the first question now was what he should do. He could join Taiga and the others down in the Great Hall, but now that he was in the library...  
A certain thought hit him like a bolt;  
It was just about research!

When Daiki would've ever thought he'd need a book in his life, now would be the right moment.   
Half-breeds. There had to be at least a few about them.   
If it hadn't been that rare for Daiki to be in the library, he could've probably read a book without getting much attention. But well, he always had at least a few pairs of eyes at him.

He inconspicuously walked over to the section about magical Creatures, hoping to find something there.  
And since he seemed to have luck today, he really did find what he was searching for.

_The origin of Half-breeds_

That sounded promising, although Daiki felt a bit bad for doing this instead of waiting for Taiga to tell him about himself.

When he finally found a quiet place between a few abandoned bookshelves, he sat down at a small table, opening the book. He couldn't believe he was that excited over a normal book...

First, he just looked through the pictures, reading had never been one of his strengths. He was a bit disappointed though, none of the depicted individuals seemed like they were able to hide their non-human ancestry. Some of the photos were even disgusting, by example the one with the Half-merman, an ugly pale green creature whose skin was partly replaced with scales.

Daiki recognized the pictures weren't really helping so he began reading.

_Half-breed is a term given to humans with at least one non-human parent, blah... blah..._

_The expression "Half-breed" seems rather offensive, however, no proper term is known to be alternative. A great deal of prejudices against Half-breeds is existing in the wizarding world, including non-human beings in general._

Daiki skipped to the part where the traits of a Half-breed where described.

_Half-breeds share the attributes of both their parents, still being able to use magic, as the magic gene is dominant, while having traits of their non-human parent as well. It is also unknown for how many generations non-human traits will persist, although it seems that wizards and witches with even one non-human great-grandparent will retain some of those characteristics._

Daiki groaned as this wasn't really helping him. He continued to read that different types of Half-breeds were not affected by prejudices such as Half-veelas. Had to do something with their unnatural beauty and seduction.  
He shortly considered Taiga as a Half-veela, but quickly discarded the thought. He sure was handsome, but not in that Veela-like way. Daiki then also remembered that there were no male Veelas or even Half-veelas. It seemed like he just got alerted when he read that those beings could be truly dangerous when angry and that they had to be treated with caution.

The next passage of the book woke Daiki's interest again, concerning several types of Half-breeds.  
It were too fucking many...

Half-giant, Half-troll, Half-goblin, Half-vampire, Half-elf, even Half-centaurs and Half-fairies, a long row of Half-demons where the author wasn't even sure if they were really existing and the list went on and on.

After almost two hours, Daiki let his head fall down onto the table with a loud thud that made several students around him look at him.  
He'd almost read through all of it, but nothing, absolutely nothing was fitting to Taiga.  
Nothing. At. All.

His head made contact with the table another time when the thought crossed his mind that Taiga could easily hide his non-human traits with some kind of complicated spell. Then Daiki could start all over again.

"Daiki."

He had to struggle hardly to not bang his head on the wooden surface for a third time.

"Akashi," Daiki pressed out between gritted teeth.

"You don't seem happy to see me." His smile at him sure wasn't meant as a nice gesture.

"Well, you weren't really nice to me the last time we saw each other..." Daiki reminded him of said fact.

"I'm sorry then, Daiki. By the way, what a wonder I found you here, not common for you to be in the library. What could have woken your interest here?" Akashi lowered his gaze and Daiki maybe closed the book a millisecond too late because the other's smile grew even more.

"Oh, look at that... I bet it was Slughorn who gave you a clue? I've heard from Satsuki that you got the Durmstrang book with his help."

"What do you want..." Daiki hissed a bit too aggressively.

"That book won't help you, just saying. And Daiki..."  
Daiki had already stood up, stuffing the book into a random shelf and considered to just leave when Akashi's cold voice made him freeze.

"You told me you were more than friends."

Shit. Daiki felt how his heart skipped a beat.

"That... I said what _if_ we are more than friends, alright? It wasn't meant like that," he tried to save himself, but knew he'd fucked up this one when Akashi's eyes only narrowed.

"If I'm getting this right, you meant something intimate with _more than friends._ He's playing with you, Daiki, you're not the type to just... agree to a relationship with someone who isn't even your type, without mentioning the gender."

"Oh, if you knew..." Daiki's face contorted into a nasty smirk, already anticipating Akashi's surprised face, but his grin faltered as the other's face darkened all of a sudden.

"Don't you know how wrong this is?!" He'd raised his voice to a not so comfortable volume, making Daiki flinch.

"It's not. Nothing of it. It feels like the first thing I'm ever doing right," he replied, though Akashi almost looked like he'd strangle him on the spot.

"You know nothing, Daiki. Absolutely nothing! You're naïve, you're looking at the world with the eyes of a young child, not able to understand why a relationship between you and this goddamn Half-breed is impossible." Akashi had lowered his voice again, not wanting to get too much attention.

"Don't you dare insulting him," Daiki snapped, baring his teeth.

"Stop being so dense, Daiki! You can't be _together_ with him. It's as if you're trying to break the laws of nature!"

"You know yourself I was always good at breaking laws," he retorted angrily.

"Not this time. If you're going on like this, it will end with your death. This is just a weird way of showing your admiration towards him, you don't understand anything of _love."_

_"_ Oh yeah? And you're the expert? I didn't even know you've got feelings," Daiki growled, his hands already fists, the nails pressing painfully into his palms.

"You'd be lost without me, Daiki. I'm trying to protect you now, but I'm not so sure about it in the future if you keep being around that piece of trash," Akashi scowled at him.

"Fine, why don't you leave me now? I don't need anyone to protect me. So if you're refusing to get lost fucking right now, you better quit insulting my boyfriend because otherwise I'll be talking with my fists instead, okay?!"

It was definitely the most offending thing he ever said to Akashi and he noticed how the other really had problems with keeping his cool, his eyes looking crazy. It felt a bit like the air got chillier around him, but against Daiki's assumption, Akashi did not pull out his favorite pair of scissors, seemingly wanting to be the mature one in this situation.  
When he said nothing, his lips pressed together in a thin line, Daiki just turned around, ready to leave. The library had never been his place anyway.

But of course he couldn't just go like that. Of course Akashi had to strike back one last time. Daiki knew how his face had transformed into utter contempt by hearing the word _boyfriend._

"He's not made for love, Daiki..."

He still heard it, though he was already halfway through the exit, Akashi's sadistic smile appearing in his mind.

"He's made for something else."

* * *

 

When Daiki went to the Great Hall, having decided to join the hopefully still ongoing quidditch conversation, he felt down once again. Damn Akashi and damn the whole library.  
At least his mood improved rapidly when he spotted Taiga at the Gryffindor table, waving towards him with that heart-warming smile on his face.

"Oh, Aomine, what a surprise!"  
Daiki noticed just then that almost their whole quidditch team was there. Hyūga was slightly glaring at him like always, Kiyoshi was smiling, Izuki wrote down something in his note book and Wakamatsu was shouting something through the entire hall while Taiga and Furihata listened to him, the latter one flinching every time Wakamatsu moved his arms too much to clarify his words.

Daiki had to sit down between Kiyoshi and Furihata since the places next to Taiga were occupied. He couldn't help but scowl slightly.

"There, there, Aomine, why don't you laugh with us?" Kiyoshi patted his back a little too roughly, it almost felt like a Bludger crashing into it.

"Oh, come on, Kiyoshi, you know that's useless. The great Daiki Aomine lacks in social skills..." Hyūga pushed up his glasses. Daiki ignored them and stared over at Taiga instead who was happily talking with Furihata and Wakamatsu. He squinted his eyes. Damnit, he was charming everyone without even realizing it!

When Taiga noticed he was being stared at, he turned his head to flash a short smile at Daiki before Wakamatsu tugged at his robe to get his attention back.

"Seems like your friend is very popular, Aomine. You somehow can't not like him after that war between you and him ended," Kiyoshi laughed.

"Yeah, it has probably something to do with his kindness. That's probably how he manages to be around you," Hyūga added with a mocking glance at Aomine who turned away with a huff.

"Don't be so mean, Hyūga," Kiyoshi ruffled through his friend's black hair.

"Okay, so listen, guys!" Wakamatsu suddenly stood up from his place.

"I got a girlfriend yesterday!" he roared and before half of them were about to clap or to start snorting Wakamatsu hold up his hand.

"Ah, uhm, don't congratulate me... Actually she broke up with me today..." He looked a bit sad when slumping back in his chair.  
The quidditch team of course bursted with laughter.

"What happened, Wakamatsu? Did you destroy her eardrums with your constant screaming?" Hyūga smirked, causing Wakamatsu's face to redden.

"Well, she said I was too loud..."

"...in bed," Izuki added and again the team roared with laughter.

"Oh, shut up, all of you! Why have I even told you this?!" The blonde yelled and mixed with the laughter it made students from the other tables look at them frowning.

"That's a good question. Where's the sense in telling us you had a girlfriend for solid twenty-four hours?" Daiki asked with a snort.

"Ha, I just wanted to show you I was able to get a girlfriend before you, Aomine!" he countered, pointing with his index finger at him.

"But that doesn't count when she broke up with you after a day..." someone threw in, keeping them cackling.

"What about you, Daiki? How's it going with Romilda?" Izuki nudged him with his elbow.

"I'm not interested in her anymore," he answered bored, noticing from the corner of his eye how Taiga winked at him.

"Oh, no, you're definitely lying! You were after her for two years!" Wakamatsu replied.

"What may have happened to make you give her up?" Kiyoshi spoke out his thought seriously, but of course everyone read something else from it.

"You don't mean..."

"Aomine has a secret girlfriend!" Wakamatsu blurted loudly.

"Pfff, who'd be able to keep up with him?"

"No, I _do not_ have a girlfriend!" Daiki replied, slamming one hand on the table.

"Yeah, alright, and who'd believe you that?"

"Shut up!"

"Fine then, what about you, Kiyoshi?" Izuki asked.

"Hm? I'm too tall, I accidently scare everyone away..." he blinked.

"Well, look at Murasakibara," Hyūga threw in.

"Oh, well, don't worry about him, he's already married to sweets," Daiki replied, causing the others to start laughing again.

"Alright, what's with you Hyūga?" Furihata seemed to have decided to join the conversation too.

"Well..."   
Everyone noticed how he blushed heavily.

"Haha, don't you know, Furi? He's totally into Ravenclaw's quidditch captain, Riko!" Izuki grinned.

"Oh, right, Daiki and I have seen you in Madam Puddifoot's teashop!" Taiga said, increasing Hyūgas embarrassment.

"So what?! At least I'm more mature that you brats!" he hollered.

"Calm down, calm down."  
Hyūga slapped Kiyoshi's hand away before the latter one could ruffle through his hair again.

"Then it's Kagami's turn to tell us his wild love stories!" Wakamatsu laughed.

"Eh?" The redhead blinked a bit confused.

"Alright, we're listening," Izuki grinned.

"Oh, uhm, I had a girlfriend at Durmstrang..."

"Woah, seriously?! Was she pretty?" Furihata asked him.

"Yeah, I guess so..." he answered a bit hesitantly.

"What do you mean with 'I guess so', haven't you looked at her face?" Hyūga snorted.

"Why did you break up? You seem like a pretty nice guy," Kiyoshi asked.

"Well, we fought and she broke up with me," he admitted.

"Oh, come on, that can't be everything!" Hyūga pushed him. Taiga thought a bit before answering.

"Actually I had a friend who was interested in her too and he made us fight," he admitted.

"Details! Was it Himuro? Why didn't you try to solve it afterwards?" Izuki looked at him with a determined face.

"Ah, no, it wasn't Himuro. He only watched the whole thing. And... I couldn't do anything afterwards, she didn't want to see me." Taiga sighed and closed his eyes for a short moment.

"I'm sorry, man, though your story sounds a bit spongy..." Wakamatsu admitted.

"Don't worry, I've moved on," the redhead smiled and Daiki realized his eyes softened too as he quickly glanced over at him.

"But, Kagami..." Izuki winked at him.

"Have you ever had... you know..."

"Hm?"  
They watched how the blood rushed into Taiga's head when he finally understood. His face was almost as red as his hair.

"N-no, God, no, of course not! We... We haven't even kissed, we have only held hands and stuff..." he quickly denied.

"Ugh, how boring, but what else should we've expected from an innocent bastard like you?" Wakamatsu laughed, throwing his arm around Taiga's shoulder.

"Well..." the redhead began laughing too and Daiki couldn't help but scowl again.

"Hey, Aomine, don't be jealous, you're not Kagami's only friend," Kiyoshi said, though it came more over as a tease, causing Daiki to grumble something unintelligible.

"Heh, seems like Aomine is not in the zone, but in the _friend_ zone!" Izuki snickered.

"That was amazingly bad, Izuki," Hyūga only commented.

* * *

 

After that day, Daiki began to count hours. They still had to bear with two days of school before they'd finally be saved by autumn holiday.

"It's actually great your house is in such a secluded place, Tetsu. That way we can play quidditch without muggles noticing," he once started a conversation Monday evening, shoveling snacks into his already full mouth.

"Wow, for real?! That's great, then we can practice for our game against Hufflepuff!" Taiga grinned into the round with sparkling eyes and Daiki would've loved to kiss him right on the spot.

"That's right. We just have to watch out the Bludgers aren't going to fly off like last time. My dad bought them for the fourth time already," Tetsuya informed them.

"Haha, don't worry, Daiki and I are pros, right?" Taiga laughed, rubbing Daiki's nape.

"Ohoh, brave of you to say you're as good as I am," Daiki smirked, liking the feeling of Taiga's rough fingers on his skin.

"Well, I bet I'd win a race with my Thunderbolt," he teased back.

"How cute of you to think that. You know my Firebolt is superior..." A spark of arrogance was appearing in Daiki's voice as he laid his arm around Taiga's shoulder.

"Aww, that doesn't mean you're superior, sweetheart," Taiga shot right back, leaning a bit closer as his hand began ruffling through Daiki's already tousled hair.  
Satsuki and Tetsuya both rolled their eyes, but did nothing to interrupt them, seemingly amused about their playful discussion.

"Oh, we'll see that, Tiger, just wait till I wipe the floor with your neat ass..."

"Heh, you better watch out you don't have to wipe off something else," Taiga smirked, looking a bit proud of himself for that counter.

"Satsuki, can you feel it too? The sexual tension?" Tetsuya whispered to her, but on purpose loud enough to be heard by the other two.  
They stopped bantering with red cheeks, quickly letting go of each other.

"Nice to know you like Taiga's butt, Dai-chan," Satsuki giggled.

"I-... I haven't said that!" he replied embarrassed.

"You didn't have to. You're staring at his ass every time he stands in front of you. I even caught you drooling once when he bend down to pick something up," Tetsuya stated blankly.

"That's not true!" Daiki shouted by seeing Taiga's rather shocked face. He knew it was meant as a tease, he only lowered his gaze on Taiga's ass when no one was around...

"Don't get them too confused, Tetsuya, they'll figure it out one day," Satsuki snickered.

"Fine, but always use protection." He showed them his thumbs up.

"Gah!! Shut up, Tetsu!!" Daiki yelled through the whole common room while Taiga looked like his head was about to explode with too much blood inside it.

"Alright, alright, let's change the topic before we have to carry Taiga to the hospital wing!" Satsuki quickly threw a few snacks at the redhead to hopefully get him back into his normal state.

"How's it with the rooms in your house, Tetsuya? Does everyone fit?" she asked wonderingly since they were so many with the others.

"Yes. You'll even be able to have a room for yourself, Satsuki," Tetsuya answered.

"I'm sleeping with Taiga then!" Daiki threw in, blinking by seeing Tetsuya's deadpanned expression.

"I hope you know yourself that this is pretty ambiguous..."  
They could almost see the steam coming out of Taiga's ears.

"Uh, by the way, Tetsuya, have you told your parents that it's Taiga coming over?" Satsuki asked him a bit hesitantly. When no answer came even the redhead recovered from his embarrassment.

"Tetsu?"

"Well, I told my mother there's a new friend coming over..." he finally answered.

"Oh, great!" Taiga buried his face in his hands with a groan.

"Don't worry, it's not going to be that much of a deal. Mrs Kuroko is going to like you as long as you're nice," Satsuki appeased the situation.

"You really think so? If this is a whole operation working against Voldemort they won't let someone into their house whose name is Kagami..."   
Taiga placed his head on the table in defeat.

"Hey, man, if you have to stay outside, I'll stay with you!" Daiki stated with a serious face, placing his hand on the redhead's back.

"Although that's very admirable of you, Daiki, I'll personally ensure that Taiga will be accepted by everyone, including the entire Order of the Phoenix," Tetsuya assured, looking determined once in a while.

"Thanks," Taiga hummed, but he didn't look that convinced.

* * *

 

On Tuesday Satsuki told them she found out that the guy from Saturday inside the inn had been indeed an Auror.

"Well, but when we met him, he already got fired by the Ministry of Magic. It seemed like he refused to give up on an already closed case, doing things on his own. As soon as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement found out, he got warned, but he still kept going so the Auror Headquarters took his identity card," she said while watching how her three friends packed their stuff, she was already done.

"Alright, but why does he have the identity card back then? Is it a forgery?" Daiki asked while throwing his shirts into his suitcase, not bothering to fold them.

"No, he stole it. That's also why he's being searched now," Satsuki responded, rolling his eyes at Daiki's packing technique.

"But what for a case was it that he was fixed on?" Tetsuya closed his bag.

"Uh... I don't really know, it got concealed..." Satsuki shortly looked at Taiga who stopped packing and stared on the ground.

"But it assumably had to do something with your family, Taiga..." she added with a look of pity.

"I know, what else could it have been," he sighed through his nose, pressing his jaw together tightly.

"You have our backs, man," Daiki patted Taiga's head after he tried closing his suitcase which didn't work since he'd just stuffed everything inside.

"We're gonna have a nice time at the Burrow, I'm sure of it," Satsuki smiled.

"The Burrow?" Taiga frowned in confusion.

"Oh, right, that's what Tetsu's house is called. You'll understand as soon as you see it," Daiki explained.

"Woah, okay..."

"Pfff, don't think wrong of it now, it's one of the most amazing places in the world," Daiki snickered when the redhead seemed even more bewildered.

"If that comes from the great Daiki Aomine, then I think I'll have to believe you," he chuckled.

"Oh, shut up, you..."  
Daiki let himself fall down on his suitcase to get it closed.

"Alright, we're standing up early tomorrow, so please don't oversleep," Tetsuya directed his gaze at Daiki and Taiga at his last words.

"Ugh, that's not how you should start holiday..." Daiki groaned as his suitcase still wouldn't close.

"Daiki, what are you even doing?" Taiga asked him with a sigh, pushing him away to have a look at his luggage. He rolled his eyes as he emptied the case again, starting to fold the clothes properly.

"Hey, what the hell! Now I have to start again!" Daiki complained, but Taiga ignored him.

"Aww, isn't that nice of him, Dai-chan?" Satsuki looked at him, cocking one eyebrow which meant "say thank you".

"No! It has been perfect!" he replied instead.

"Yeah, right, you weren't even able to close it," Taiga smirked at him.

"I totally was about to until you interfered!" Daiki lied.

"You should really show your gratitude in another way than fighting with him, Daiki," Tetsuya advised, causing the other to grumble embarrassed.

"Uh... Daiki...?"

"Yeah?" He turned to face Taiga who was squinting his eyes at a particular piece of clothing.

"That's my underwear..." he then stated and not a second later Satsuki broke out with laughter.

"N-... That's not true!" Daiki denied, snatching it out of Taiga's hand.

"Oh no, it _is_ mine!" He got it back in a blink of an eye, holding it out of the other's reach.

"Why should I steal your underwear, are you stupid?!" Daiki shouted, desperately trying to get it back.

"I'm going to bed now..." Tetsuya commented.

"Ha, I've seen you taking my shirts just because you're too lazy to wash yours!" Taiga grinned as Daiki felt a heavy blush appear on his face.

"Give it back!" he almost yelled, tackling Taiga as he tried to take the boxer shorts away from him.

"Get your own clothes, you pervert!" the redhead laughed.

"Oi, it's _mine!!"_  
Daiki finally managed to get the clothing back from his partner by tickling him.

"Alright, alright, but no more shirts, I don't have many of them," he laughed as Daiki continued to tickle him.

"Let's see about that..."

"Well, they're too big for you anyways," Taiga teased him with a smirk.

"Oh, let's find out what's too big for you!"

"Uh... I think I'm going to bed too," Satsuki giggled in the background, startling the two since they thought she'd already left.

"And remember, you're dead if you're too late tomorrow..." She waved at them before leaving.

"This would be easier if we had an alarm clock," Daiki groaned as he rolled down from Taiga, throwing the underwear into his still opened suitcase.

"What's an alarm clock? You still haven't told me!"

The next morning, both of them were too late.


	19. The Burrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a week away with my family, so I'll probably won't be able to update next weekend.   
> But I promise to work on the next chapter with every bit of freedom I'll get!   
> (。^_・)ノ

"Ouch!" Daiki groaned as he landed face first in the mud.

"Pfff, only losers fall to the ground after using a Portkey!" Taiga cackled, standing next to him as Daiki spat out the dirt he'd gotten in his mouth during his crash.

"Shut up, idiot!"  
He yanked at Taiga's leg, causing the other to yelp before kissing the ground too.

"Ew, you asshole!" he complained as he pulled his hands out of the mud.

"Only losers fall to the ground!" Daiki laughed while Taiga glared at him.

To be honest, Portkeys never had been Daiki's thing. First, he'd had to touch one (mostly ugly) object with many others, then there was this uncomfortable pull at his navel before everything around him had blurred and he got pushed in various directions. Then came the worst part. It always felt like falling from a high building, the world was spinning underneath him before he'd hit the ground with his head every fucking time.

The others _never_ embarrassed themselves like him. Satsuki and Akashi had landed on their feet in an elegant way. He would've loved to at least see Midorima stumbling. But the only thing he'd heard was Kise screeching loudly because of the muddy ground, frantically trying to stop himself from falling like Daiki did.

He really thought Taiga would be like him since he knew the redhead was even clumsier than Daiki already was, but unfortunately, the bastard had stood on his feet like the others.

He really hated Portkeys.

At least the redhead wasn't standing now, laying next to Daiki in the mud instead.

"You're the bigger loser!" Taiga shouted, throwing a handful of dirt at Daiki's face who dodged too late, feeling how the wet earth stuck to his face.

"Urgh!" He quickly wiped it out of his eyes.

"Oh, you're going to regret this right now!" Daiki launched at Taiga with a growl, taking both of them down once again, rolling around in the mud.

"First, you two were so late we had problems catching the Portkey, and now you can't even behave!" Midorima pushed up his glasses with a stern voice, glaring at them as he still hold the Portkey in his hands, an old rusty pot this time.

"Aominecchi, Kagamicchi, now you're all dirty!" Kise complained, quickly taking a step back, scared of getting too close to them.

"Oh, come on, you fucking Barbie," Daiki smirked, throwing dirt at Kise who dodged it with a high-pitched cry. Taiga was still panting underneath him, Daiki pressing his back into the ground without a chance to escape.

"Daiki, stop being silly," Akashi lectured him while Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"Guys, please get a hang of yourselves, how are we going to introduce Taiga like this?" she nagged as the two stood up, of course without Taiga missing the chance to ruffle his dirty hand through Daiki's hair.

"Well, you totally look like my mom's going to let you in," Tetsuya pinpointed sarcastically, looking at the two idiots covered in mud.  
Satsuki sighed loudly before swinging her wand and the dirt was completely gone.

"Wow," Taiga blinked a bit surprised, and so did Daiki.

"Just be happy I'm a witch," she grinned.

"We're late, let's go," Midorima ordered, starting to walk towards a rather interesting building that was standing pretty lonesome in the nature.

"Uh, ist that really your home, Tetsuya?" Taiga asked a bit stunned, staring at the somehow crooked wooden house that only seemed to be held together by magic. Daiki knew what the redhead was thinking. It really looked like there had been one small hut existing in the beginning until more rooms and stories had been added.

"Wow, I haven't expected that, but I guess it's comfortable," he smiled at Tetsuya.

"You'll see, it really is," Daiki confirmed, throwing his arm around Taiga's shoulder like he did so often.

"Do you have siblings? If not, why's your house so big?" the redhead asked him with furrowed brows as they went to the entrance, passing a sign that read "the Burrow".

"No, I don't have siblings, but my dad once wanted to make this a hotel for goblins. Of course my mom was against his, but he was so happy to expand our house that we decided it was big enough for the Order of the Phoenix to meet. And the many rooms are also advantageous, or else you all wouldn't be able to stay here," he explained with a light smile, and Daiki squinted a bit, thinking that the short wizard may have looked even a bit proud.

"I bet you have a funny family then," Taiga grinned, causing Daiki to snort.

"They sure are funny, but I'm still wondering how they could have a son that's the complete opposite of them..."  
Of course he got jabbed in the side not a second later.

"That's not true, Daiki. I do share my interest in muggle items like my dad." Tetsuya slightly glared at him.

"I haven't meant your interests," Daiki continued to tease him, quickly dodging another hit.

When they finally rang the doorbell (a magic one of course), Daiki saw Tetsuya's mother approaching them to open the door. A moment later a beautiful woman stood in front of them with a big smile on her face. Like always, she seemed a bit hectic and her hair was a bit disheveled.

"Oh, welcome, everyone! Come in, come in, I've made tea for everyone and-..."

"Mom..."

"There are also cookies for dessert, I know Daiki-chan loves them!"

"Mom!"

"What is it, Tetsuya-chan? Oh, right, you told me about a new friend! Is-..."

"Mrs Kuroko, there's steam coming out of the kitchen..." Midorima cleared his throat awkwardly.

Daiki observed how Tetsuya's mother looked surprised for a moment, then shocked.

"Oh! That was supposed to be your lunch! I bet I can save it!" She smiled before quickly rushing into the kitchen.  
They decided to enter the house, taking off their shoes in the entrance hall.

"Kuro-chin...?"  
A lazy voice asked which belonged to Murasakibara who was only talking when necessary.

"Is your mom still bad at cooking?"

"Yeah, though she practiced a lot," Tetsuya sighed.

"Ugh, even worse than Momocchi??" Kise asked almost scandalized.

"What did you say?!"  
Not a second later a wand was being pointed at his throat as Satsuki was glaring at him intensely.

"Alright boys, it's time to eat! Ah, and girl of course, I'm sorry you have to keep up with all of them, Satsuki-chan!" Tetsuya's mother called from the kitchen, winking at the only girl in the group.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm watching all of them so no one gets into trouble," Satsuki grinned as they entered the room and seated themselves at the long table.

"That's admirable, my dear," Mrs Kuroko smiled back at her and Daiki's eyes got captured once again by the pans and pots that were moving on their own.  
Magic was amazing...

"What are you staring at, idiot?" Taiga snorted next to him, nudging his shoulder.

"Shut up, I'm not used to this..." he grumbled, causing the other to grin.

"That's cute."

"If you want me to fucking punch you, just say so!" Daiki snapped embarrassed.

"Daiki-chan, language!" Mrs Kuroko lectured him while Kise began snickering.

"Ah, I forgot to ask, Tetsuya-chan! Where's your new friend?" She turned around from the stove to face the group.

"Uhm... over here." Taiga raised his arm slightly and Daiki observed how Mrs Kuroko's eyes searched him, but as soon as she looked at his face, she suddenly flinched to the extent where she accidently dropped her wand. Not a moment later Taiga slumped together, lowering his gaze at the table's surface.

Daiki furrowed his brows in confusion like all the others, his eyes flicking from Taiga to Mrs Kuroko who picked up her wand.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, my dear!" She brushed the imaginary dust off her apron.

"You oddly reminded me of someone, I'm sorry. What was your name again?"

"Taiga..." he murmured, looking up hesitantly. Mrs Kuroko smiled lightly as she approached him.

"Nice to meet you then. I'm sure you're a good friend for Tetsuya-chan and the others." She patted his red hair as if to say sorry once again.

"Mrs Kuroko, there's steam coming from the stove again..." Midorima reminded her once again that there currently was something burning.

"Oh, I'm so stupid! Thanks, Shintarou!" She quickly hurried back to get everything under control again. Daiki felt how Taiga's hand was grazing his underneath the table and he used the chance to take it in his, squeezing gently. He was about to let go again, but Taiga intertwined their fingers, seemingly wanting him to stay. Daiki looked at him just to notice his boyfriend was facing another direction as if to avoid his gaze. At least his hand refused to let go of him.

"Here you go! Sorry you had to wait!" Mrs Kuroko directed eight plates with her wand towards the table, letting them elegantly fly over to each of them. Following were several pots with sauces, side dishes and salad. The main dish was a slightly burnt turkey which had a few black spots and ones that still looked raw.

"Uh, a turkey? Is it someone's birthday?" Daiki asked, narrowing his eyes at it.

"No, no, I just thought you'd like to eat something special to celebrate the start of your holiday," she laughed.

"Don't hesitate, there's enough for everyone! I'll go see if my husband and your parents arrived yet," Mrs Kuroko informed them and disappeared into another room.

"Well..." Daiki said as everyone just continued to stare at the turkey, no one daring to touch the food.  
He then rolled his eyes and let go of Taiga's hand to fill his plate. The ban seemed to be broken and the group finally began eating.  
It didn't last long until the first ones started coughing.

"Seems like she still has to practice a lot," Midorima only commented with a deadpanned expression.

"I can't eat this," Kise whined with tears in his eyes.

"It's made with love, so get yourself together!" Satsuki nagged, though she also was picking at the food with her fork.

"I'm not hungry anymore..." Murasakibara stated, earning a sigh from Kuroko.

"Seriously, I don't know what's your problem," Taiga threw in with a full mouth, having finished his portion already.

"What the hell, Kagamicchi!" Kise shouted unbelieving.

"If you don't want yours, give it to me," he suggested, starting to empty Daiki's plate.

"You'll get sick," Midorima said, reluctantly handing his plate over to Taiga.

"Idiots can't get sick," Tetsuya replied blankly.

"Whatever, I'm eating mine, you cowards," Satsuki cocked one eyebrow at them, stuffing her mouth with the turkey.

"At least she has balls," Daiki groaned, but got jabbed by her immediately.

"No, Dai-chan, luckily I do not. Let's see who'll cry after a kick between the legs," she countered with a snarky reply.

"I finished mine too," Akashi stared at the others sternly.

"No, you didn't! I saw how you let it vanish with your wand," Midorima revealed his excuse to not eat the food.

"By the way, what has happened earlier? Kurokocchi's mother looked almost scared!" Kise asked into the round, changing the topic.

"That's none of your business, Kise," Daiki growled, not knowing what to say else.

"But I wanna know!" the blonde persisted.

"His parents were death eaters, so no wonder Mrs Kuroko was shocked to see his face," Akashi responded much to Daiki's dislike.

"What?! For real? I thought it was only a rumour!" Kise blinked surprised before staring at Taiga who was glaring at Akashi.

"I-is he even allowed to be here then?" he asked warily.

"Of course, you dumb shit! He's our friend!" Satsuki hissed and pulled at his sparkly hair.

"Ouch! Ouch!"

"So you mean Kagami reminded her of his parents, but she shrugged it off by thinking it was just a coincidence?" Midorima speculated.

"Probably, since he _purposely_ didn't say his last name..." Akashi answered.

"Would you stop now?!" Daiki snarled.

"Why? Can't your friend talk on his own?" Akashi directed his gaze at Taiga who was staring at the table again.

"This is getting nowhere, alright? So stop making him down all the time!" Daiki shouted and Akashi's eyes darkened.

"Watch it, Daiki, I don't want to have to warn you again..."

"Warn me, my ass!" Daiki hissed angrily, but he also was concerned. Why wasn't Taiga replying too? He usually wasn't this quiet during a fight.

"Would you _please_ calm down?" Surprisingly it was Kuroko who was raising his voice, standing up from his chair to shut everyone up.

"Thank you very much," he spoke with a light glare. Daiki still scowled at Akashi, spotting a dangerous gleam in the latter one's bright yellow eye.

"Wow, Aominecchi! Didn't know you were the overprotective kind of guy!" Kise laughed nervously to lift the mood.

"Oh right, just wait till he gets a girlfriend! He won't let her befriend anyone else than him!" Satsuki added, patting Daiki on the shoulder to tell him to loosen up.

"I'm not sure if that's going to happen in the near future."  
Daiki tensed up once again in anger by hearing Akashi's knowing voice.

"I swear, one more word..."

Luckily Mrs Kuroko returned into the kitchen, blinking by seeing Daiki's angered expression.

"Oh, kids, don't fight on your first day without school! You can play quidditch in the garden later on. Ah, but first we have to wait for everyone else to return, they should be here in a minute," she informed them, walking over to their table.

"Seems like I did well this time, there's nothing left!" Mrs Kuroko piled their plates with a bright smile.

"It was delicious!" Satsuki lied and the others just nodded a bit hesitantly.

The next moment the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the Order of the Phoenix. Of course Tetsuya, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara and Akashi went to the entrance hall, eager to see their parents.

"Aren't your parents here too, Satsuki?" Taiga asked the girl as they stayed in the kitchen along with Daiki.

"They're both muggles, so no, they're at home. Of course they force me to write them letters almost everyday," she laughed.

"Oh, I didn't know that!" Taiga admitted a bit surprised.

"Yeah, it's better to not say it out loud sometimes because you know how easily people with muggles as parents get bullied by trash like Haizaki who think they're superior just because of their blood status," Daiki grunted, frowning by even thinking of Haizaki.

"Oh man, that's mean," Taiga hummed with knitted eyebrows.

"Now that you mentioned it, we didn't even have students from muggle families at Durmstrang."

"Everyone like Haizaki should just die..." Daiki uttered with a grumble.

"Dai-chan! Stop frowning, it makes you-..."

"...look older, I know, I know! I'm just saying it's not fair that people with muggles as parents are not treated equally to those with wizards!"

"Woah, didn't know you were fighting for equal rights that hard," Taiga teased him, though there was a hint of admiration hidden in his voice.

"Shut up," Daiki huffed, pouting at him.

The three watched how the others got greeted by their parents, some of them more emotional than others. Kise's mother was hugging him so tightly the poor Barbie almost suffocated. Kuroko's dad, a happy looking little man only ruffled through his son's hair before walking over to his wife.   
Daiki was always a bit stunned as soon as he saw Murasakibara's mother. She was at least six inches taller than her husband, but not as tall to be mistaken for a Half-giant, though she had to watch out to not hit the ceiling in some rooms.  
When he'd seen Midorima's father for the first time, he'd thought the guy would be as humorless as his son, but he'd been wrong. When there was someone who pulled bad jokes at the wrong moment it was Mr Midorima. His wife was a bit overprotective over her son, right now she had taken off Midorima's glasses to kiss him on his forehead.

"He, I'm gonna rub this one right into his face later," Daiki snorted as he observed the flustered Midorima who tried escaping his emotional mother with a red face.

"Hey, are those really Akashi's parents? They're just staring at him as if he'd done something wrong," Taiga pointed at them with a frown.

"Well, he has a few issues with them, they are very strict," Satsuki answered, watching how Akashi's father only laid his hand on his son's shoulder without a smile on his face. His mother was the same, and Daiki always felt intimidated by seeing them.

"They're working against Voldemort the hardest I'd say. Without considering any risks. Lupin once told me it's not just him who thinks their methods are too radical sometimes, but as long as they are fighting for the good side, it's okay," Daiki lowered his voice a bit, leaning over to Taiga.

"I guess I better not cross their ways, right...?" the redhead whispered back dryly.

"Hey, don't let anyone make you down, alright? You proved a lot of times you hate Voldemort as much as we do!" Daiki hold his shoulder in a tight grip, patting his back a few times before he suddenly got called by Kise's mother.  
He walked over to her and of course he couldn't dodge the bone crushing hug.

"Oh, my Daidai! I'm so glad you're fine! I've heard from Seijūrou that someone almost strangled you! It must be hard for you when there are always people that want to hurt you!" she sighed hysterically, stroking his now tousled hair.

"Ah, uh, that... that was just an accident, nothing serious..." he managed to say before he got squeezed into her chest again.

"M-mum... you're embarrassing..." Kise stuttered, standing next to them.

"Ah, Mr Daiki Aomine!" Midorima's father joined them, grinning in excitement.

"I hope you're not going through such a complicated phase like my son... Oh well, puberty..." he emphasized dramatically after Mrs Kise had let go of Daiki.

"Father!" Midorima hit him on the back.

"Ouch! Stop being impolite, Shin! You should listen to your mother and smile a bit more! Also, I'd like it more if you call me daddy!"

Daiki looked over from his position towards Taiga and Satsuki who were still in the kitchen. The latter one grinned at him and waved as soon as as a few parents also looked over to her with a smile. The redhead was standing there rather awkwardly, looking as if he was nervous.  
He probably was.

"When will the others arrive?" Mrs Akashi had turned to Kuroko's mother.

"Oh, they'll come tomorrow. Dumbledore still had a few things to do, so the assembly got postponed to tomorrow evening," she informed her.

"Of course you can stay here for the night. Although it's gonna be a bit tight, we have enough rooms after all," Mr Kuroko added and Mrs Akashi nodded, returning to her husband.

Daiki, who'd finally escaped the excited crowd, managed to get back to Taiga and Satsuki, noticing (without getting startled by his sudden appearance) that Tetsuya was with them too.

"Damn, look how lucky they are," Daiki grumbled, sighing by looking at all these happy families.

"I bet you're a son too for most of them," Taiga hummed with a side glance at him.

"But I'm not, so that's irrelevant."  
He knew he was getting to a point where he'd bring down the mood, but he was jealous. Daiki couldn't help it, it was his biggest wish to see what it would feel like to have a family. One that would care for him, a mother and a father that would both protect him from everything.  
They had done so, but they had had to pay the worst price possible for saving Daiki's life.

"Daiki, let's go play quidditch with the others," Tetsuya interrupted his thoughts on purpose, not wanting him to think too much about what he'd lost.

"Yeah..." he murmured and turned around, following the others through the kitchen into the garden.

"Take a seat! The children were just done eating," he heard Mrs Kuroko behind him and how the chairs got pulled back.

"Ah, Atsushi? Will you help me with the dessert?"   
The purple giant walked back into the kitchen without a word, seemingly more interested in food than in quidditch.  
When Daiki rolled his eyes, he heard Taiga chuckling next to him.

Right, he was like him. He also had no parents, not anymore. Daiki sometimes wondered if they really had loved Taiga. He couldn't imagine bad people loving something and let it be their own child. But maybe they did, maybe not.  
Daiki's process of thinking was once again interrupted when he saw Mr Akashi standing up from his chair and approaching them with a cold look in his eyes. Daiki froze and so did Taiga.

"You!" the man spat, grabbing the redhead's shoulder violently, turning him around to have a better look at him. Taiga seemed terrified, not able to move, just staring shocked into the man's face.

"What are _you_ doing here?"   
The redhead whimpered as the pressure on his shoulder increased even more.  
The others began noticing the incident too as they turned towards them surprised.  
Daiki watched how Mr Akashi's eyes narrowed, and disgust was seen in them along with hate.

"Oh my God, is that..." Mrs Murasakibara blinked with wide eyes by having a closer look at Taiga's face too who was paling more with every second passing.

"How did you even let him in?" Mr Kise asked Mrs Kuroko indignantly.

"I... Tetsuya said a new friend was coming over, I didn't know he... I thought it was impossible that..." She looked a bit helpless, clutching her apron.

"I asked you what you are doing here... Kagami!!" Mr Akashi repeated his words with a hiss, causing Taiga to look even more scared by the way his name got spat out viciously.

_Let him go!_ Daiki thought, but it was as if he was paralyzed.

_Let him go!_

"Let him go!"  
He was confused for one second. He hadn't said it, had he?  
But when Daiki turned around, he saw Tetsuya standing in front of them and it was somehow weird to see a mildly pissed look on his face.

"He's our friend."

"What?" Akashi's father replied sharply.

"He said that Taiga is our friend!" Daiki repeated, having found back his voice.

"So that's his name... I knew they had a damn brat!"

Daiki was so tense, if it would last one second longer he'd burst and tackle the bastard to the ground like he'd done inside the Hog's Head inn.

"That's enough! Please stop it and let the boy be. Tetsuya and his friends wouldn't have brought him here if they didn't trust him, so we should do so too!" Mr Kuroko stood up from his seat to calm everyone down.  
Mr Akashi sighed loudly through his nose, closing his eyes before opening them again to glare at Taiga coldly.

"We're not done." He pushed him away harshly, turning around to join the other adults again. Taiga remained shocked for quite a while before he faced Daiki a bit shakily and went into the garden where the others waited with wondering expressions on their faces.

"Taiga..." Daiki was quick to catch his arm when he stopped walking as soon as his feet were touching grass, staring at the ground.

"We... Can we play quidditch now?" Taiga turned to Kuroko, almost looking a bit restless as if he wanted to repress what had just happened, as if he especially wanted the others not to talk about it.

"Yeah, sure, I'll get the equipment," Tetsuya responded without blinking once, walking over to some shed. Daiki didn't notice he was still holding onto Taiga's arm until Kise started giving him weird looks.

"You can play if you want to, I'm going back inside," Akashi said all of a sudden, walking past Daiki and Taiga through the backdoor.

"Why's everyone making such a big fuss about Kagamicchi? It's not like he-..."

"Shut up, Kise," Daiki interrupted him with a growl.

"I'm not in the mood for quidditch either," Midorima pushed up his glasses a bit nervously, following Akashi back inside.

"What the hell?!" Daiki snarled as soon as he noticed Kise trying to get away too.

"Maybe tomorrow, Aominecchi..."

He looked over at Satsuki, but she seemed as helpless as him, shaking her head in disappointment. And Taiga was still looking at the ground.

The rest of the day was more than awkward. Every time Taiga was passing someone, they'd mostly pull their child aside and Daiki could hear them whispering.  
Therefore he was staying at the redhead's side along with Tetsuya and Satsuki, though it didn't happen only once that he got told to stay away.

* * *

 

"I'm leaving."

Daiki blinked confused, looking at Taiga who was staring at his plate, not having eaten one bite of dinner yet. It was evening and they were in Tetsuya's room, just him, Taiga and Satsuki. Tetsuya had wanted to eat with them too, but he'd gotten forced by his parents to stay in the kitchen with the others. It had ticked Daiki off that they were okay with Taiga eating at another place, but holding back him, being nice to him and so on, everybody flattering the boy who lived.

They hadn't said it out loud, but it had been clear from the beginning that they didn't want Taiga to eat with them at one table. That had led to an outburst from Daiki's side who'd then stormed up the stairs, pulling the redhead with him. Satsuki had been shortly behind them.

"What...?"  
Daiki looked up from his food into Taiga's face.

"I said I'm leaving," the other repeated dully.

"No, no, wait! Taiga, you can't, think about our plan! You're part of this too!" Satsuki replied with a concerned expression.

"I'm clearly not wanted here, so I should go." He set down his plate on the floor and continued staring at it.

"We're gonna change that, alright? We'll make them trust you!" Daiki sounded determined as he spoke those words, sliding over to Taiga and resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Good luck with that..."

"Hey, Tetsu promised to make the Order of the Phoenix accept you! Have a bit faith in him, alright?"

"I can understand why I'm not welcome here. Who the hell wants the child of two death eaters that supported Voldemort with everything they had in their house, without even mentioning the fact it belongs to one of the few organisations working against him and his followers..." Taiga let his head slump between his knees.

"Oh, no, no, no! You're not going through an emo phase right now, I won't allow that!" Daiki pulled him back into an upright position.

"Besides, I still have most of your clothes, so you can't go!" he added with a slightly arrogant smirk that normally caused Taiga to laugh.

"We need you, Taiga. You're one of us, alright?" Satsuki assured, patting Taiga's arm.

"Right, give us one day to figure this out, got it? I won't let anyone be mean to you!" Daiki promised, having grabbed both of Taiga's shoulders and looking at him with all the seriousness he's got.

"You guys are too nice to me," Taiga rewarded him with a light smile, his eyes closed as he slowly leaned his body against Daiki's.

"You've deserved better than you think, Taiga, kindness is a thing that should be returned," Satsuki said and Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Don't sound like Dumbledore all of a sudden, you're not one hundred fifty-something..." he grumbled, trying not to blush too hard when feeling Taiga's hair brushing his neck.

"Yeah, one hundred fifty times smarter than you!" she winked at him.

"Shut up, you old hag!"

"Oh, what did you just call me?!"

They got interrupted by a deep chuckling, sending vibrations through Daiki's body as Taiga's head still laid on his shoulder.

"Damn, I almost forgot how cute you two are!" Satsuki then smiled at them with red cheeks.

"W- What the hell are you talking about..." Daiki was immediately on defense mode.

"Just trying to tell you it would be alright if you were together..."

Daiki really considered to tell her one moment, but then he inwardly shook his head. Not today.

"Ah, and if you want to be alone, just say so," she grinned and stood up, taking her plate with her before leaving Tetsuya's room.

"You're not eating?" Daiki asked as his gaze came across Taiga's untouched sandwich.

"Not hungry," the redhead murmured, nuzzling his face even deeper into Daiki's neck.

"If you really plan to leave, I'm coming with you," he said steadily, starting to comb his fingers through Taiga's red strands.

"The people here need you. They won't let you go, especially not with me."

"I'll kick their asses, you'll see! And I'll protect you, whatever happens!" he stated with a serious face, pressing his body more into Taiga's.

"Yeah, Daiki, you're my prince in shining armor..." he laughed quietly.

"Uhu, I am everyday!" he bragged.

"Alright, if you're that eager, I'm staying. But only if you give me back my underwear when we're at Hogwarts again..."  
Taiga's laughing sounded like music to him.

"You can bet on that, Tiger!"  
And since they were alone and it somehow felt right, Daiki turned his head aside, lowering his gaze at Taiga's lips that looked as alluring as always. Not a second later both of them were moving towards each other, their lips meeting in the middle. And once again Daiki's body felt like it was charged, as if sparks were exploding inside him. It somehow gave him the feeling that the excitement and happiness of kissing Taiga would never vanish.

Their bodies were connected as close as possible, their chests pressed together, Daiki could feel Taiga's heartbeat. Their lips moved only a little, more gentle than the last time they'd shared a kiss. Daiki's tongue shortly flicked over the redhead's bottom lip, but that was everything. He held onto Taiga as they parted, his boyfriend hugging him tightly.

"I'm so happy I met you, Daiki, and I'm glad you trust me. I hope this won't change."  
Daiki watched how his own hand slid up and down on Taiga's back.

"Definitely not, whatever happens."


	20. Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my calculations, one half of the chapter is angst and the other half consists of ultimate fluff. But my math could be shit too, and there's something else going on in this extra long chapter.  
> Enjoy! ;)

"So..."  
Tetsuya cleared his throat for everyone to listen to him.  
Daiki, Taiga, Satsuki, Kise, Midorima, Murasakibara and Akashi were sitting in Tetsuya's room after they'd finished eating dinner.

"The floor below us is for your parents this night. We'll get the rooms on the upper floor," he informed them as soon as everyone was paying attention.

"Can I get a room with you, Kurokocchi??" Kise blinked at him with his long lashes.

"No! _I_ will share a room with Tetsuya!" Satsuki replied loudly, pushing Kise aside.

"Calm down please," Akashi said while staring at them.   
Kise gulped loudly.

"Since Satsuki gets a room for herself..."  
Everyone could hear her groaning...  
"...the rest of us has to pair up," Tetsuya ended his sentence.

"But wait, that means someone else has to sleep alone too!" Kise stated almost shocked, looking into the round, his eyes flicking from one to another.

"I don't care, it's definitely not gonna be one of us!" Daiki smirked, throwing his arm around Taiga.

"No, I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted, but you'll sleep alone while I will have to share a room with Taiga," Akashi replied, causing at least half of the present people to frown.

"What the hell? Why should you?!" Daiki grunted confused, not letting go of his redhead.

"My father wants me to keep an eye on him and also to make him stay away from you!" His eyes gleamed dangerously as Daiki was about to protest once more.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! You can't decide everything on your own!"   
Daiki was glad when Taiga decided to finally bite back.

"I can and I will! I won't let anything happen to Daiki just because of his own recklessness and stupidity!"

"You're really good at losing friends, you know that, Akashi?!" Daiki yelled angered.

"Guys, this just pisses me off!" Kise's high voice interrupted their fight.

"That's right! Why the hell are you so focused on Taiga?! Are you afraid he'll strangle Daiki in his sleep or what?!" Satsuki agreed, looking angry herself.

"Worse..." Akashi just hissed, causing the others to start shouting at him.

"Seriously, Akashi, I'm done with your shit!" Daiki roared inbetween.

"But he has a point, Kagami's parents were death eaters after all, and not some unknown personalities like Hanamiya's parents who also followed He Who Must Not Be Named," Midorima stated with a frown, but his voice got almost swallowed by Taiga's shouting.

"What the fuck is your problem?! So you honestly think, I'm going to betray all of you when the time is right?! Is that really what you think?! That I will bring Daiki to Voldemort and watch how he kills him?!" The redhead's face contorted into a real expression of fury as he stood across from Akashi.

"You think you know everything about me, but you don't! You're just throwing me into one pot with many others! But it's sad to see how your brain is working, how you think I'm faking everything!" he added, the look in his eyes showing disgust and despise. He didn't exactly know why, but there was something about Taiga that made Daiki shudder this moment.

"Careful, we don't want you to snap, do we..."   
The others gasped in surprise when Akashi suddenly pulled out his wand, pointing it at Taiga who looked like he was ready to jump the other's throat.

"Either you're agreeing to share a room with me and not with Daiki, and this day will end peacefully or you'll leave this house right now and I'm reporting you to the Ministry," Akashi threatened him, his eyes more intense than ever.

"What the actual fuck...?!" Daiki hissed slowly while Taiga exhaled through his nose, his breath shakily as he tried to hold in his anger.

"It's his decision," Akashi smiled, knowing he'd already won.

"Alright, stop it right now! Everything I'm understanding is that you're fighting about who sleeps in which room while letting it sound like it's a war!" Kise shouted bewildered, interrupting once again.

"I have to agree this time," Midorima cleared his throat and Murasakibara hummed in annoyance.

"Still, I'm not the only one who thinks it's better if Daiki gets a room on his own." Akashi didn't seem to plan on letting go of this subject. Taiga narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. If you have no other way to protect Daiki or whatever your plan is, then I'm okay with it."

"But that's not fair! You can't let him treat you like that!" Daiki replied infuriated, but Taiga remained calm.

"Like you said, Daiki, I'll make them trust me. That's the only way," he smiled, turning around so Akashi was facing his back, blending him out. Daiki got the slight feeling that his boyfriend's goal was to provoke Akashi, just a bit as if he wanted to tell him he didn't have any influence on him.

"The more you talk, the more confusing it gets..." Kise groaned again, looking around helplessly.

"At least it's settled now," Midorima sighed.

"Alright, then it's Satsuki and Daiki alone, Kise can sleep in my room, Murasakibara and Midorima get one, and Taiga and Akashi," Tetsuya concluded, the reactions more or less pleased.

"I'll kick you out if you start snoring," Midorima warned Murasakibara with his stern voice.

"Eh? But Mido-chin..." The latter one almost looked like a kicked puppy.

"Okay, listen guys, I'm changing the topic!" Satsuki cleared her throat.

"Since I found out we're definitely not allowed to be part of the meeting, we're going to eardrop as you've probably expected!" she announced.

"Won't they catch us like last time?" Kise asked unconvinced, but Satsuki grinned.

"Not a chance, this method is safe!" She turned around to get her bag and pulled out a rather weird object.

"Extendable Ears!" Satsuki explained when everyone just squinted at the long flesh-colored pieces of string that looked somehow ugly.

"Ew..." Kise vocalized everyone's thoughts.

"Don't judge them, they are great! The only useful thing I found at Zonko's Joke Shop!" she defended her _Extendable Ears._

"And... how do they work?" Taiga asked.

"Oh, you'll stick one end into your ear and the other one underneath the door or something similar, so we'll be able to overhear their conversation clearly!"

"But I don't want that in my ear!" Kise complained, causing Satsuki to roll her eyes.

"If you don't want to hear what they're talking about, it's your thing."

"And the meeting will be tomorrow evening, right?" Midorima questioned while Kise whimpered in the corner, not able to decide if it was worth it.

"Yeah, fortunately that will give us enough time to prepare," Satsuki nodded at them, only Murasakibara yawned loudly which got ignored.

"And our plan?" Daiki threw in.

"What do you mean?" Tetsuya asked.

"Well, we should also explain _our_ plan, you know? The one that consists of saving the whole wizarding world and whatever," Daiki cleared his throat to make him understand what he was implying.

"Ah, _that_ plan! It's a bit too late now, we should do that tomorrow too," Satsuki suggested, suppressing a yawn herself.

"Could you _please_ stop confusing me!" Kise whined, but got no response.

"Momoi is right, I suppose we should go to bed," Midorima agreed.

"You can occupy the four rooms next to mine, and there's one bathroom per floor," Tetsuya informed them.

"At least I can stay with you, Kurokocchi!"

"Whatever, good night, everyone," Daiki grumbled, and with that most of them left Tetsuya's room and went down to get their luggage.

Of course it was Daiki's full intent to at least get the room next to Taiga's and Akashi's. He may have angered Midorima and Murasakibara by claiming it was his room and telling them to leave, but he was sure it had been worth it.  
When he layed down into the bed and turned off the light, he just realized how much he hated sleeping alone. It always remembered him of the time with the Dursleys, the cupboard under the stairs where he'd barely fit inside. His life had been more than shit until he'd moved to Hogwarts, but he still got an unwell feeling every time he was alone.

Damn Akashi and his fucking intent to _protect_ Daiki from Taiga, although he figured this just belonged to his kind of childish attitude. It would've been so much cooler sharing a room with Taiga. They could talk all night long without Wakamatsu shouting he wanted to sleep and they should shut up. Daiki wondered if Taiga would agree to climb with him under the blanket, abandoning the second bed in the room, and letting himself embrace by Daiki.  
Ugh, damnit, what a rare chance that just slipped through his fingers!

He hugged the blanket while glaring at the ceiling, but the thick fabric couldn't replace the warm body he wished into his arms so badly.  
Just damn Akashi!  
Daiki flinched when something suddenly hit the wall in the room next to him, causing him to hear a loud thud.

"What the fuck do you even think of me?!" he heard Taiga yelling through the wall. Daiki frowned, waiting for Akashi to respond, but his voice was quieter and he was probably standing farther away. He curiously pressed his ear against the wall, though its coldness was pretty uncomfortable.

"Exactly what you're so desperately trying to hide..." It was not hard for Daiki to imagine Akashi's dark expression on his face.

"Fine! So you know it, and what now?! If anyone else finds out that you know it, you're gonna be in trouble since the matter was supposed to be top secret!"

"And since I'm the only one who knows it, I'll watch you! It's not that hard to understand when you want to protect your friends!"

Daiki frowned so deeply, his forehead started to hurt.

"But why do you think I'd just... do this to them, especially Daiki?!" Taiga's voice started to sound more desperate.

"Because your nature won't allow anything else, and that's exactly the problem!"

"I don't want this either..."  
Daiki was sticking to the wall right now, not wanting to miss a word.

"But you can't change what you are, so it's irrelevant if you want it or not," Akashi replied coldly.

"I... I know you don't like me, but... I have feelings too, you know?! And you... You're just treating me like some lower creature that doesn't have the right to life!" Taiga raised his voice and Daiki felt bad for him, once again.

"That's because you are."  
Silence was following, Daiki only heard Taiga's quick breath and the creaking of the bed, letting him assume that the redhead had sat down.

"If I can give you advise, just leave and never come back. Right now if you want to. Leave and don't get into our ways again."

Daiki's eyes widened and he shortly considered jumping out of his bed, bursting into their room and punching Akashi into a wall.

"And where... should I go if I'd follow your genius advise?" Taiga hissed, the angry tone back in his voice.

"That's not my problem. You'll find a place with other miscarriages like you."

That totally crossed the line! Daiki stood up, fuming with anger, but his hand stopped hovering over the door handle when he heard Taiga responding.

"If it wasn't for Daiki and for Tetsuya and Satsuki and my other friends, I'd probably do so. But I won't let them alone! Hogwarts was the best time I ever had in my life, I've never been this happy before! And you... you're just destroying it!"

"I know about you and Daiki." Akashi said all of a sudden and Daiki quietly walked back into his bed, his face pressed against the wall again. Shit, he should've been more careful during that encounter in front of the kitchens.  
Taiga wasn't saying anything, Daiki figured he was pretty much surprised.

"I won't allow this to continue. It's wrong in any possible way."

"Of course you'd say something like that," Taiga seemed to have found his voice back.

"Your relationship is sick. You're sick and I won't let you ruin Daiki."

"You don't understand anything about love, do you?!" Taiga snarled.

"How dare you calling that _love?!"_

"And how do you plan on keeping us apart?!" Taiga countered and Daiki was proud that he fought for the two of them.

"By getting rid of you."  
Daiki shuddered when there was a heavy silence following.

"And that's how you intend on doing it? Provoking and insulting me until I finally snap? That was your goal right from the beginning, to make me angry in front of the others to see what will happen? To see how far it'll go until I hurt someone, yeah?! And then it would be easy for you to get rid of me."

"It took you a long time to figure that out."

"I have enough! I won't let you insult me any longer! You should be careful, alright?! Unless you want your great plan to backfire..." Taiga shouted.

"Where are you going?" Akashi asked spitefully and Daiki heard the door being opened violently.

"The bathroom, asshole!" Taiga hissed, before the door was loudly shut and his footsteps grew quieter as he distanced himself.  
Calling Akashi an asshole was probably the bravest thing ever. Daiki was sure the smaller wizard was hardly managing to keep his calm in the other room.

He started wondering if Taiga really went to the bathroom. Would he even return? If he hadn't hated Akashi before, he definitely did now and Daiki knew he would never set a foot into that room again as long as Akashi was inside. Ten minutes had passed since Taiga left, and Daiki was way too upset to even try sleeping.

He jumped startled when the door to his room got suddenly opened. Daiki could only recognize Taiga's red hair in the dark as the latter one entered the room and closed the door behind him quietly. He must've been silent on his way back from the bathroom, Daiki hadn't heard his steps.

"Daiki...?" It was nothing more than a whisper, but he still noticed the vulnerability in the way his name was spoken.

"Yeah?" Daiki whispered back when it seemed that Taiga expected him to respond first.

"Can I... stay?"

"Sure, of course you can." Daiki could feel his heartbeat fastening.

"...with you?" He couldn't see what face Taiga made right now, but he didn't move towards the other bed. Daiki's stomach began tingling.

"Come here." He moved over to the wall side of his bed and picked up his blanket to offer Taiga a place next to him. The latter one gladly climbed into his bed, turning to face Daiki as the bed was creaking silently.

"So warm," the redhead murmured tiredly when he laid his head down on Daiki's chest, his arms hugging him closely. Taiga's eyes were already closed whilst Daiki was a bit too excited, though he managed to hide it. He petted Taiga's hair, entangling their legs as he wanted to be as close as possible to his boyfriend. Taiga hummed approvingly when Daiki continued to comb through his deep red strands.

Of course Daiki wondered if Akashi heard them. Was he asleep already? Was he okay with Taiga not returning? He almost feared that the smaller wizard would burst into their room any second, setting an end to their sweet moment.  
But as minutes passed by, Daiki calmed down again. No one would take Taiga away from him.

He bent his head forward to place a long kiss on Taiga's head, inhaling his scent Daiki couldn't get enough of, the soft hair tickling the corner of his mouth. He started stroking his boyfriend's upper arm, feeling the hard muscles underneath his warm skin. Daiki slipped his hand underneath the straps of Taiga's sleeveless shirt, letting it trace along his broad shoulders. He could feel the redhead's heart beating faster and so was his own.

"We should sleep, Daiki," Taiga grumbled lowly, but Daiki knew he enjoyed this as much as him.

"Not without a good night kiss from you," Daiki whispered and the other lifted his head.

"It's too dark, I can't even see your face. What if I miss?" Taiga definitely liked teasing him.

"That won't be a problem." He was sure his boyfriend was grinning right now.

"But please not another headbutt!"

"I'll be careful," he hummed and Daiki couldn't wait for Taiga's soft lips to touch his own.  
Of course he missed and they landed closely underneath Daiki's right eye which he quickly closed out of reflex. Taiga let his lips stay there for a while before he slowly started moving down, gently nudging Daiki's nose with his own, causing him to laugh quietly. He kissed the corner of his mouth until Daiki turned a bit and their lips were finally connected.

Their kiss was quiet and slow, both of them avoiding to make any noises. It was harder to kiss in the dark than Daiki had thought. The pressure of Taiga's lips on his increased and he could feel his breath tickling his cheek. If it would go on like this, Daiki was sure he'd pop a boner in no time, already being turned on by their close proximity. Daringly as he was, he searched with his hands for Taiga's waist under the blanket. He then pulled up his boyfriend's shirt, his hands roaming his bare back.

"D-Daiki...!" Daiki smiled when the other didn't pull back despite his complain. He hold onto his shoulder blades, admiring Taiga's perfect body. It didn't last long until his boyfriend's hands were on Daiki's chest too, pushing the fabric of his shirt aside. Daiki opened his mouth, effectively capturing Taiga's lower lip with his tongue.   
He knew they should stop now, but when the redhead unconsciously rubbed his lower half against Daiki's crotch once again, he knew it was too late, considering the growing bulge in his pants...   
Taiga gulped as he noticed it too, drawing back a little.

"Daiki, we can't go on," he uttered quietly.

"Don't pretend like you're any different!" Daiki grinned into the darkness.

"I... I certainly am _not_ like you..."   
Damn, he'd love to see his blushing face now.

"Oh yeah?" Daiki reached down farther under the blanket, his hand between Taiga's thighs.

"Daiki, what are you-...!!" The redhead shrieked, quickly covering his mouth when Daiki grabbed his dick through his pants.

"At least one who's being honest," he smirked, not intending to move his hand away as he continued to feel Taiga's hard member.

"No, no, no! They'll hear us if they haven't already! B-Besides we're at someone else's place, so we can't just..." he complained, all his effort going into keeping his voice at its lowest volume.

"Aww, you're cute, man. What is magic for? I'll look for a silencer spell or something..." Daiki knew that probably was nonsense (who knows?), but he really didn't want to stop right now. He was finally laying in one bed with Taiga without the possibility of anyone else suddenly entering the room or seeing them. Still, curse those thin walls...

"As if... You're... stupid..." Taiga muffled a moan by pressing his face into the pillow next to Daiki's head.

"Come on, tiger, you and me in one bed... What have you expected?" Too sad Taiga couldn't see his smug expression.

"Well, maybe you not being a pervert for once!"  
Daiki chuckled quietly, his hands moving to squeeze his boyfriend's butt.

"The problem is I always am a pervert when you're around, a pretty horny one if I may mention that..."

"Get your hands off my ass!" Taiga rumbled, trying to sound dangerous, but Daiki knew he was as much turned on as him.

"Maybe I should say I'm pretty _and_ horny. But don't get me wrong, you're pretty too!" Daiki ignored his little warning, pulling out his flirty side (where most compliments were dedicated to himself, but fine).

"You..." Taiga was probably trying his best glaring at Daiki right now, but he was sure the other's face was most likely burning red. Daiki smiled again before he carefully grabbed Taiga's face which was a bit difficult due to the lack of light, before pulling him down to kiss him again. The redhead melted into it, opening his mouth to grant access to Daiki's tongue. The latter one slid his tongue between Taiga's wet lips with passion that made his tiredness fade away. When Taiga moved his tongue against Daiki's, both of them sighed deeply, suppressing to moan loudly.  
Daiki made one attempt to pull his boyfriend's shorts down, but said one batted his fingers away more or less gently.

"Do you remember how I told you I'd like to lick your nipples?"   
It was hard to dodge the incoming blow in the dark, but it had been worth it.

"N-no... We're not doing anything, alright?" Taiga grumbled embarrassed.

"Oh, please! I'll make you feel good!" Daiki almost begged.

"I have no doubts in that, but we're not alone in this house Daiki, it would be disrespectful!" Taiga reminded him with a small sigh.

"But we won't get any other chance to sleep together in one bed..." the other sulked.

"I'm sorry, Daiki, I'll cuddle you for the rest of the night, okay?"   
Daiki felt how Taiga kissed him on the cheek to apologize.

"...but my dick needs attention..."

"D-Don't just say something like that!"  
The redhead cleared his throat before Daiki started to kiss him hungrily again, sucking on Taiga's tongue eagerly.

"Hey, are you seducing me?" Taiga pulled away quickly after looking through Daiki's plan.

"Just a little...?"

The redhead sighed again.

"Okay, we'll be here for the whole next week. I'm sure we'll get enough alone time. And don't worry, we'll somehow find a nice quiet place for us from time to time, alright? Just look at the terrain around us..." he hummed, his hands stroking the hair out of Daiki's forehead as he started chuckling mildly.

"Are you referring to outdoor sex?"

"Ugh, why am I even talking to you..."

"But it includes sucking your nipples, yeah?" Daiki remarked sneakily.

"...Fine," Taiga groaned after a short break of hesitation.

"Nice, maybe I'll even get to suck something else..." Daiki wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, though he knew the other couldn't see him.

"Oh God..." Taiga only sighed.

"Okay, okay. At least I'm officially giving you permission to cuddle me to death tonight!" Daiki laughed silently.

"I'll take you by word..." the redhead yawned, snuggling into Daiki and wrapping both his arms and legs around him.

"Good night, Taiga."

"Night..."

And the guy was gone the next second. Daiki shook his head amused. His erection had slowly calmed down and a wave of tiredness hit him. He pressed a kiss onto Taiga's head the last time before closing his eyes too. Luck really seemed to be on his side this evening. He'd wished his boyfriend into his bed and there he was, his face nuzzled into Daiki's chest.  
It was more than great to feel the warmth of his body embraced by his own.

"I love you," Daiki mumbled, sighing contently. It was amazing how safe he felt when he was around Taiga. Strange how this contrasted against the opinion of all the others that wanted him to not get to close to him.  
Nonsense. Those people didn't understand anything, they didn't even know Taiga and yet, they judged him all the time. It just wasn't fair.

When the clouds in front of the moon slowly began to vanish, a faint ray of light made its way through the window, making it able for Daiki to finally see his boyfriend's face. He raised his hand, carefully stroking through Taiga's hair with almost no pressure. How the redhead was laying there on his chest, his eyes closed, his lashes throwing tiny shadows on his cheeks. Right now he seemed so pure, so innocent. And Daiki knew he was. The others were wrong.

Taiga was a Half-breed.  
That wasn't such a big deal, at least not for Daiki, for society it meant something entirely else. It didn't matter to him that one half of Taiga belonged to another species, though he couldn't tell which one. He seemed human to him, mostly. Daiki had thought it would bother him more when he found out his boyfriend was a Half-breed. He'd thought that it would feel weird to kiss him just by knowing it, but it wasn't like that. Taiga was Taiga, his cute and kind, often hotheaded boyfriend and that wouldn't change.

Taiga was a Half-breed.  
Daiki had pretty much swallowed that and he knew that he'd tell him soon about himself. Trust was everything that Taiga needed from him and therefore he had to be patient. But he knew the redhead was worth the wait. Daiki loved him after all.

* * *

"Wake up, it's late, you're missing breakfast!!"

"Taiga..." Daiki mumbled half asleep, opening his eyes before closing them quickly again as the sun beamed at him through the window brightly.

"Dai-chan, you dummy..."   
That definitely was not Taiga. Daiki turned around, blinking a few times before recognizing Satsuki sticking her head into his room.

"But where's..." He then just realized that he was alone, the space next to him being empty and cold.

"Aww, you were dreaming about him? So cute," she squealed.

"Shut up, Satsuki," Daiki grumbled, pulling the blanket over his head in demonstration. Taiga had probably left in the early morning, returning to his original bed. Daiki knew it had been the right thing to do since anyone could have walked in to wake him up, and of course his and Taiga's friendship would get questioned when they find them hugging each other in their sleep.  
Still, Daiki would have loved nothing more than to wake up with Taiga in his arms. The fact that it didn't occur like that made him a bit moodier than he usually already was in the morning.

When he went down the stairs, he hoped to find the redhead down in the kitchen with the others since he hadn't been in his room. Although he knew it was most unlikely, he got a bad feeling when he thought about Taiga saying that he should leave.  
Daiki's concerns were unjustified as soon as he turned around the corner and almost ran into Taiga who carried two plates, filled with food.

"Ah...shit," the redhead said as he noticed Daiki appearing in front of him, saving the food from falling down just in time.

"Uh... good morning," Daiki smiled and Taiga immediately grinned back at him.

"So... where are you going?" he asked him when he sneaked a glance behind the redhead, seeing the others sitting at the breakfast table.

"I... I was planning on eating upstairs and well, I thought you'd like to join me, so I brought you something too," Taiga grumbled a bit embarrassed, handing him one plate.

"Thanks..."  
Damn, he had the best boyfriend ever!

"Where do you think you're going?" Satsuki asked as she came down the stairs, spotting the two in the hallway.

"We're eating somewhere else, chill, Satsuki," Daiki yawned.

"Oh, no, we're eating together! You can't isolate yourselves like that all the time!" she nagged, pulling at their sleeves and dragging them back to the kitchen.

"B-but... no one wants me here, so I should-..." Taiga got interrupted by Satsuki hitting the back of his head.

"Since when are you that negative? Loosen up a little! Besides, there sure are people that want you with them!"

When they entered the kitchen, Daiki saw that there were two tables now, one for them and one for the adults.

"Ah, so we're complete now!" Kise shouted as the three sat down.

"Unfortunately, yes," Akashi commented, instantly starting to glare at Taiga who gave his best ignoring him.

"Oh damn, how comes you haven't killed each other when you slept in one room?" Kise tried to break the tension by laughing nervously. It wasn't really helping...

"That's because we haven't slept in one room," Akashi said without making a face.

"Eh?" Now the Barbie blinked in confusion, whilst Akashi still stared at Taiga.

"He said he wanted to go to the bathroom, but he never returned..."

Daiki saw from the corner of his eye that the adults stopped talking at the other table.

"That's not true, I came back," Taiga replied, trying not to sound too angry.

"Yeah, you did... in the morning. I'm kinda wondering what you've been doing all night long..." Akashi narrowed his eyes at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Taiga growled.

"Nothing..."

"He was with me, alright? And that was totally reasonable since the only thing you did was insulting him!" Daiki interfered angrily.

"I know that he went to your room, Daiki. It wasn't that hard to hear you. But when you woke up, he was gone, right? And maybe I should add he wasn't in my room that time either." Akashi smiled which started to piss Daiki off.

"Would you mind telling us what your point is?" Midorima sighed slightly annoyed.

"Daiki, isn't it bothering you that he always leaves without telling you where he goes?" Akashi ignored Midorima's question, continuing to glance at Daiki and Taiga. The latter one gritted his teeth.

"Would you mind shutting up, please?" he growled slowly.

"Why should I?" Akashi replied with a sneer.

"Because it's in your own interest to do so!" He stood up in anger and almost the same time, several parents stood up from their seats alerted. When Daiki turned to look at them, he saw Akashi's parents, Mr Kise and Mrs Murasakibara looking at Taiga as if he was some beast that broke out of its cage.

The redhead turned towards them too, still standing. Mr Akashi had even drawn his wand out and Taiga froze. He didn't dare to glare at them, though he looked like he wanted to. Instead he looked down, his fists clenched at his sides, but the others were still staring at him as if they expected him to move, to attack someone as soon as they would lower their guard.

Daiki felt nothing but pity for Taiga. Just to have to deal with something like that in the morning after yesterday had been horrible too, he was sure the redhead would want to leave after that one.  
When he looked at Taiga's face, he noticed an expression he'd never seen on him before. It was a mix between looking scared and angry as if he refused to give in to them, but also couldn't defend himself.  
Satsuki suddenly pulled gently at Taiga's hand.

"Just sit down again..." she whispered quietly.

"Slowly..."

Just as Taiga was about to do what she said, Mr Akashi decided to speak up.

"If you dare to threaten my son again, you'll see Azkaban in no time. It would be the best for all of us if you'd be there, especially for Daiki. I still can't believe Dumbledore let's you walk around freely..." he scoffed, still pointing with his wand at Taiga.  
That was enough for him, Daiki knew it. The redhead hissed angrily, pulled his hand out of Satsuki's grip and rushed out of the room with harsh movements.

Daiki stared after him like in trance before he snapped out of it and stood up, following Taiga as quickly as he could.

"Daiki!" Mr Akashi shouted to hold him back, but he didn't listen, darting out of the kitchen.

"Did you really have to say that to him? He's a child!" He still heard Mrs Kuroko.

"You shouldn't think of him as such. And he must know where his place is..." was the cold answer.

"Taiga!" Daiki shouted as he sped up the stairs. A door was being slammed the floor above him. He almost stumbled, continuing to follow the redhead. When he reached his room, the door was still open as he'd left it, so Daiki went to Taiga's and Akashi's room.

As he'd expected when he opened the door, the redhead was packing his stuff. He didn't fold it like he'd done in Hogwarts, he just furiously threw his things into his case like Daiki normally did.

"Taiga..."  
He didn't turn around to face him. Daiki sighed, knowing that he should be careful since it was obviously his boyfriend was in a pretty bad mood, and he didn't want to anger him even more.

"Hey..." he hummed softly, kneeling down next to Taiga who was still ignoring him. Daiki didn't really know what to do now... He should comfort him, right? Persuading him to stay and calm him down. How? Hug him?  
_Yeah, hug him,_ Daiki's brain answered and not a second later, he wrapped his arms around the other's body. Not being able to use his arms anymore, Taiga stopped his movement.

"Let me go, Daiki," he mumbled without trying to break free.

"No," he only replied, his arms tightening around Taiga who sighed loudly.

"You can't hold me here, Daiki. I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"No, you won't!"

"I've had enough of these people. Just let me leave!" the redhead groaned, squirming in Daiki's arms.

"No!" Daiki refused, obstinate as he was.

"Daiki..." Taiga growled and Daiki felt how the other started to get annoyed.

"It's clear they were happier without me, so stop it!"

"Forget it!" Daiki clinged to him as the redhead tried freeing himself from his hug.

"Get off me!" he shouted, giving his best to shake the other off, but Daiki remained persistent.

"Daiki, I swear if you're not letting go right now..."

"Not happening, idiot! And if you have to carry me the whole way back to Hogwarts, you won't get rid of me!!" he shouted.

"Damn you!"  
Taiga began to force himself out of Daiki's arms violently, causing both of them to fall backwards to the ground. And although Daiki hit his head on the wooden floor pretty hard, he still didn't let go of Taiga.

"Why are you so stubborn?!" the redhead huffed in exertion.

"Because you're important to me and I want you beside me! You can't just leave because they're looking down on you, that would mean they had won! Also, I still have half of your clothes, including most of your underwear!" Daiki panted as Taiga's struggling increased.

"You... Wait, what?!"  
Daiki was glad when his boyfriend stopped moving, gifting him a few seconds of recreation.

"Like I said, you won't have many clothes at Hogwarts!" he grumbled awkwardly, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. The impact hadn't been that light after all...

"You're really something else," Taiga sighed strained, but he didn't sound as angry anymore.

"Alright, I know, but seriously, you're heavy, so..." Daiki croaked hoarsely as the other was still laying on top of him with his back.

"Oh, sorry..." And there was his concerned boyfriend again. Taiga sat up, allowing Daiki to breath again. He smiled, though he felt dizzier any second due to his hurting head.

"Uh, Daiki, are you okay?" the redhead wondered when Daiki closed his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah... I guess..."

"Oh shit, you're bleeding! You're totally not fine!" Taiga panicked as he noticed the injury on the back of Daiki's head.

"I am, I just hit my head..." Daiki replied, his voice a bit slurred. Taiga quickly lifted him up into an upright position.

"Wait, I'll check that!" he said as he crawled behind him, warily touching the injury.

"Ouch! You're a bad nurse!" Daiki complied.

"Sorry!" Taiga apologized, carefully stroking Daiki's hair out of the wound to have a better look at it.

"Will I survive?" he grumbled.

"You should take that a bit more serious! It doesn't look all that bad, though... At least you won't bleed out," Taiga responded, some of the blood sticking now to his fingers.

"Oh, that's good news! Still, my head's hurting like hell... You don't know a healing spell?" Daiki asked him as he felt Taiga's finger leaving his head.

"Taiga?" He started to wonder when the other didn't answer and suddenly stopped breathing.

"Uh... Is there something wrong?" Daiki tried again and turned around to face him, just to see Taiga staring at his fingers.

"Hey, someone there?" Daiki frowned in bewilderment, pinching his boyfriend's cheek. It seemed to work, Taiga snapped out of it, blinking at Daiki.

"Sorry, what?"  
Daiki smirked, looking at the redhead's hand.

"Aww, you can't see blood? Didn't know you were such a softie..."

"Shut up!" Taiga grumbled, pouting while looking aside.

"Anyways, I didn't plan on dying, so do you know a healing spell or not?"

"Yeah, it's probably not as advanced as Satsuki's, but I guess it will do its job," he cleared his throat, pulling out his wand.

"Don't scare me now, I only wanted to make sure you know one," Daiki snorted with a grin, ignoring the pain as much as he could.

"It's pretty decent, okay? And also way better than yours..." Taiga pouted.

"Episkey!"  
Daiki's head felt hot for a moment as the spell hit him like a warm breeze. He then touched the wound, noticing it was barely there.

"Hey, good job," he praised him a bit surprised.

"Yeah, and who said I'm a shitty nurse?" Taiga grinned.

"Well, I don't really know, but I bet it was your love for me that made the spell work so nicely," Daiki teased him, turning completely around to take Taiga's face into his hands.

"See?" he then spoke softly, looking into his usually bright eyes that were a bit dull today.

"You can't leave me alone, I'd be totally helpless without you! What if I fall down the stairs, get a concussion and you're not there to help me?"

"The others can help you too. I'm sure their healing spells are even better. Everyone in this house cares for you." Taiga averted his gaze.

"And so do you! I'm sure I'm not able to regenerate completely without my lovely boyfriend at my side!"

"Daiki, you're getting ridiculous!" the redhead failed to hold in a quiet laugh.

"No, no, I'm serious over here! What if I fall down the stairs and actually die? Wouldn't you feel bad for not being there in the last moment of my life?" Daiki continued to tease him since Taiga was laughing and that was a good sign.

"Please stop! You're making me feel guilty and don't just talk about death like that! Besides, you won't die by falling down the stairs!"

"Oh, you wanna test it? I assure you, the only one who can die by falling down the stairs is me!"

"No, no, no! Let's keep that theoretical!" Taiga placed his hand on Daiki's as if he really feared the other would exit the room and jump down the stairs any moment.

"Only if you stay..." he mumbled, his gaze lowering on Taiga's lips.

"I... I don't know, Daiki," the redhead sighed, twisted between his own will and Daiki's.

"I won't leave you alone, never. I promise!"

"You do?" Taiga looked at him with big eyes and Daiki smiled at him lightly.

"Of course, you belong to me after all and everyone should know that," he whispered as he slowly closed the distance between their faces.

"I'm glad you're there for me, Daiki..." Taiga whispered back.   
Just as they were about to kiss, the door opened and Satsuki looked inside.

"Dai-chan? I was sent here to look if you're fine... both of you. Oh..." She blushed when spotting the two of them kneeling on the floor, Daiki still cupping Taiga's face with his hands. Of course he quickly let go.

"Aww, I got it, you two are too sweet!" she giggled.

"No, Satsuki, what the fuck! We were having a real bromance moment until you disturbed!" Daiki growled while Taiga grinned at her nervously.

"Yeah, right, that's a strong _bromance_ you have there..." she snorted.

"Just go away, Satsuki!"

"Sure, continue your special moment!" she winked at them before closing the door again. Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Sooo, you still wanna kiss me...?" he then asked a bit shyly when he was sure Satsuki was out of reach.

"What a question..." Taiga grinned at him happily, pulling Daiki towards him, his hand on the other's nape. Daiki snaked his arms around his waist when their lips connected, gently rubbing the small of his back. Their kiss was sweet but short this time, Taiga slumping forward into Daiki's arms, hiding his face in the crook of his neck.

"Hey, man, it's alright!" Daiki patted his back when he felt the other clinging onto him.

"Daiki, what if they are right?" he murmured silently.

"What?! No, you mustn't think like that! Taiga, don't let it get to your head!" Daiki was a bit shocked when the conversation turned serious again.

"But what if I'm actually a threat for you? Everyone keeps saying that..."  
He placed his hand on Taiga's head, petting his red hair.

"You're not. Why should you? I have the feeling that I'm more a threat for you since it is me who's being chased by Voldemort and me who almost killed you..." Daiki gulped, trying not to remember the bloody scene inside the bathroom.

"Anyways, it doesn't matter what they're saying! They don't know you, they don't even give it a chance. Their loss I'd say..." He smiled a bit, desperately wanting the situation to loosen up.

"But... aren't you wondering too? Why it is like that, and not just because my parents were death eaters that were known by almost everyone who fights against Voldemort. Aren't you... hating me that I'm still hiding something from you?!" Taiga's voice grew louder and more desperate with every sentence, and Daiki actually feared his boyfriend had reached a breaking point.

"Shhh, shhh, calm down," he hugged him closer, laying down his head on Taiga's shoulder.

"I know you'll tell me," he whispered.

"Dumbledore also said I should wait, and if you get to know Dumbledore, you'll learn very quickly it's the best option to follow his advise." Daiki chuckled before continuing.

"I trust you, Taiga. That's why I can wait. I'll wait until you trust me too."

"But I already-..."

"I know, but it means something else," he interrupted him, pulling away to look at his face.

"I love you, okay? Whatever it is, it won't matter for me."

"Thank you, Daiki."

"Oh, don't thank me, I know I'm a good boyfriend!" Daiki bragged, knowing the serious talk was finally over.

"Hey, you just were pretty cool until now!" Taiga smiled a bit weakly and Daiki stood up, extending his hand to help him up.

"I'm always cool. But we should go down to the others. Let's give this a last chance before we're leaving together, deal?" Daiki grinned when Taiga took his hand.

"Deal."


	21. Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The headline screams for smut, just saying.   
> Well, the chapter may not be relevant for the plot, but the next one is gonna change a lot ;)

No one said a word when they went down again, most of the others already being in the living room or helping Mrs Kuroko in the kitchen.

"Damn, that's been a short breakfast..." Daiki sighed, his stomach grumbling in response. When he spotted Kuroko's mother walking towards him with a filled plate, he thought a wonder was happening.

"Ah, Daiki-chan. Good I finally found you, I made you something since you didn't get to eat much!" she grinned at him and handed him the plate.

"Thanks," Daiki smiled back, but stopped when he noticed Taiga's shoulders slumping next to him. Mrs Kuroko saw it too and Daiki thought she'd ignore it and just walk away, but then again, he remembered she was too nice and that her heart was always full of compassion.

"Hey, I'll make something for you too, alright? Just wait a minute." She looked at Taiga with a mild smile and rushed back to make a sandwich for him. Daiki was sure she wasn't faking her kindness since he recognized in the way she was acting that she felt sorry for Taiga.

"Here you go!" Mrs Kuroko laughed while the redhead gladly accepted his breakfast, flashing her a big smile that totally caught her off guard. Daiki smirked proudly. His boyfriend's smiles were still the best after all.

"Your friends are in the garden, I heard they wanted to play quidditch. You can join them when you're done eating!" Mrs Kuroko winked at them before turning around again to continue her work.

"Let's go, Taiga," Daiki beamed at him and grabbed his arm to pull him through the backdoor into the garden.

"Uhuuu, finished your bromance moment?" Satsuki teased them as soon as she spotted the two.

"Well, kinda," Daiki just commented, stuffing half of the sandwich at once into his mouth.

"Ew, that's disgusting, Aominecchi! Kagamicchi, how do you keep up with him?!" Kise asked scandalized.

"Uh... He's actually not that bad," Taiga shrugged.

"Excuse me?! I'm awesome!" Daiki jabbed him with his elbow in the ribcage, causing the other to choke on his food.

"Yeah, Dai-chan, we know. You're the greatest from all of us," Satsuki snickered sarcastically.

"Just be happy you've got at least one fanboy," Tetsuya, who'd sneakily joined the conversation, added with a blank face.

"Im not his fanboy!!" Taiga protested with a red face.

" _Of course_ you're not..." Satsuki cocked one eyebrow while Daiki let both of their plates fly back into the kitchen with the help of his wand, managing to place them on the table without breaking them.

"Well... I just thought he's kinda cool..." the redhead admitted slightly embarrassed.

"Aww, thanks, man," Daiki smirked, ruffling through Taiga's hair, the latter one failing to dodge his hand.

"So that's why you're so attached to Kagami since he's the only one who thinks you're _cool,"_ Midorima had apparently decided to join the conversation.

"But seriously, you always _do_ stick together! You never were that touchy towards me, Aominecchi! I'm hurt..." Kise added with a whine.

"That's because he's my best bud, and you're not," Daiki rolled his eyes with a grunt, throwing his arm over Taiga's shoulder to clarify his words.

"That's called _bromance_ _,_ Ki-chan, did you know?" Satsuki giggled.

"Is that your favorite word now or what?!" Daiki groaned.

"I don't care what it means, all of you are annoying right now," Midorima only commented.

"Well, we wanted to play quidditch anyway," Tetsuya ended the talk.

"Yeah, we gotta get our broomsticks!" Taiga agreed, pulling Daiki with him back into the house.

Playing quidditch was one of the best things that happened since they were at Tetsuya's house. And Daiki also got the feeling it was a time where Taiga didn't feel like he was at the wrong place. He was laughing all the time, laughing for Daiki and for everyone else. It was one of those times where he was brighter than the sun in Daiki's eyes, not even Akashi had the opportunity to utter one of his insults in front of him.

Of course Daiki and Taiga were both on different teams, and he really enjoyed their small one on one's, even though they crashed more than once on the ground while trying to show off with their nosedives.

"Stop playing so rough, I'm scared!" Kise screeched somewhere inbetween, keeping his safety distance.

"But I need to win!" they both yelled at the same time while starting to ram each other in order to keep the Quaffle.

After an hour, Satsuki had enough playing the referee since no one was listening to her. It also didn't last long until Murasakibara got bored, he was Hufflepuff's Keeper and the Kurokos had no quidditch hoops he could protect, so he saw no point in playing.

The others quit too when the game evolved into a wrestling match on the ground between Daiki and Taiga.   
Of course that led to a scolding from Satsuki's and Mrs Kuroko's side since they were covered in mud _again._ Satsuki even refused to use her cleaning spell on them, saying they won't learn it that way and they should take a shower instead after having sweated that much.

"Don't get the floor dirty, you two!" Mrs Kuroko warned them as they entered the house again, running up the stairs to the bathroom. But it seemed like it wasn't just them who wanted to shower. The first bathroom was locked, Midorima shouting from the inside that they should get lost. The second floor's bathroom was occupied by Kise who immediately shrieked when Daiki banged at the door. But finally, after sprinting up the stairs another time, the third bathroom was free.

"So... uh, do you want to go first? I'll wait," Taiga suggested when the other opened the door. Daiki snorted amused.

"We're both going, idiot. I won't let you stand in front of the door while you are dripping mud and sweat!" he replied, pulling Taiga with him inside, without waiting for the other's response.

"No, no, no, Daiki! What if someone finds out?!" Taiga pulled at his dirtied sweater after Daiki had locked the door.

"No one will find out," he smirked while noticing a few crumbs of earth sticking to Taiga's bottom lip.

"Besides, we're two guys, so normally no one would suspect there's something between us."

"Yeah, but... Akashi does know, and I'm almost sure that Tetsuya and Satsuki do too! What if we get caught?!" Taiga asked with slight panic in his voice.

"Hey." Daiki looked him into the eyes, placing both his hands on Taiga's shoulders while reducing the distance between them a bit.

"Relax, alright? There are so many people in this house, they won't always have time to keep an eye on me or on you. Besides, if there... if there's really someone finding it out and screaming it through Hogwarts or even the Ministry of Magic, I won't deny it, you know?"   
Taiga stared at him in awe.

"So yeah, if anyone can't handle me being your boyfriend, they're probably just jealous because I'm the famous and handsome Daiki Aomine! And then I'd kiss you in front of everyone, with tongue of course, and if they won't accept us, we'll run away and they'll never see us again! Sounds like a plan?" Daiki grinned at him widely while the other was still looking at him, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Daiki... Why?" he then mumbled.

"Dumb question, you idiot! Because you're worth it! How many times do I have to tell you that? I freaking love you, you know?" Daiki playfully hit him on the head and rolled his eyes while still smiling.

"So I've been always right by thinking you're kinda cool," Taiga chuckled.

"Yup, that's true!" Daiki nodded to himself.

"Anyway, you know what it would look like if I even _tried_ to deny my immortal love for you?"   
Daiki cleared his throat while stepping back, pretending to talk to someone else.

"What? Him?" He pointed at Taiga.

"No, no, no, there's no way I'd ever be dating a handsome and erotic guy like him and have hot sex with him all night long. Neeeever..."  
Daiki was glad when Taiga started laughing loudly.

"You're... Daiki, you're a legend!" he cackled while holding his stomach.

"Oh, I've always been a legend..." he winked at him and cupped his face with his still dirty hands.

"Oh, no, you're not doing that!" Taiga warned him when he looked through Daiki's intentions, failing to shove him away.

"Too late!"

"No, eww...!!" And their lips were sealed, though Taiga made a face at all the dirt sticking to their faces.   
Oh, how he loved to tease his redhead.

"Dude, your lips are sandy..."

"No shit, man!" Taiga wiped his mouth with a grunt.

"Alright, I recommend getting rid of our clothes and jump under the shower then!" Daiki smirked, throwing his soaked sweater away.

"Wha-... No way, not together!" Taiga refused.

"Aww, pretty please!"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Daiki hugged him from behind, slowly rubbing his lower half against Taiga's in a seductive manner.

"You are still dirty, grinding on me won't help you now," Taiga deadpanned and Daiki groaned disappointed.

"By the way... We forgot new clothes to change in..." he suddenly reminded him of said fact.

"Damn, good you're such a genius, that would've been hella awkward! Who gets the clothes?" Daiki sighed.

"You."

"What? No, why me?"

"Well, you asked _me_ who should get the clothes and _I_ said _you!"_

"Oh no, it's not working like that! That was a rhetorical question!"

"Heh, I'm impressed you even know the word _Rhetoric!"_

"Shut up!"

"Rock-Paper-Scissors?"

"Rock-Paper-Scissors!"

Unfortunately Daiki lost and slowly trolled out of the bathroom. But at least he got to pick the clothes.  
He'd totally put on Taiga's clothes only, he thought as he walked towards their room.

Against his fantasy, his boyfriend wasn't naked when he returned. But well, he couldn't really blame Taiga for being shy. It was somehow cute after all.

"Should I help undressing you?" he asked teasingly after placing the pile of clothes on a chair.

"Hell, no! I'm still against the idea of... showering together..." Taiga grunted, backing away a bit.

"Fine, I can also watch you showering, that's not the problem."

"You... You pervert!!"

"Hey, we can also get into the bathtub together!"

Taiga started grumbling in despair and Daiki observed with satisfaction how his boyfriend couldn't really decide between what was reasonable and what was adventurous.

"Not the bathtub..." he finally growled warningly while pulling his own sweater over his head.

"Yes!!" Daiki high-fived himself in victory inwardly.

"I knew your desire for me is as infinitely as mine for you!"

"Since when are you so poetic?" Taiga frowned a bit irritated, though he still seemed amused.

"Don't you think it's romantic?"

"No... Not when it's coming from you," Taiga snorted, throwing his shirt away.

"Maybe I'm just better at something else..." Daiki smirked, leaning forward to quickly pinch Taiga's exposed nipples.

"Ouch! You idiot, I'm regretting to have agreed to this!" Taiga hugged his naked torso in protection.

"Too late to take it back!" Daiki got rid of his own shirt and snaked his arms around a tense Taiga.

"Please let me go, there's dirt literally everywhere on our bodies!" he grumbled.

"I can show you one part without dirt, though it can make you dirty..."

"Oh God, are you from some bad porn movie?!"

"Nope, from a good one."

"You're annoying when you're horny..." Taiga could only sigh when Daiki nuzzled his face into his neck.

"That's your fault since my freaking brain always tells me: Damn, look, there's Taiga, the guy with the hot ass..."

"Okay, I understood," the redhead chuckled.

"But seriously, are you going to undress yourself now or are we just going to... stand here...?" he then asked.

It was that moment when Daiki realized he was nervous. For real. He felt like Taiga was the same since none of the two started to undress themselves further. He was excited, he could feel that from his heartbeat, but could it also be that Daiki was scared?   
He'd finally see Taiga naked. That realization just hit him. They'd stand under the shower together closely, _naked!_  
Daiki knew that was the wrong time to be insecure. He did want something to happen between them, didn't he? He'd wanted them to bond further, to see what it would feel like touching Taiga's naked body with his own.

"A-alright, don't look!" Daiki cleared his throat and turned away from Taiga who definitely rolled his eyes now.

"And there goes your plan of pretending to be the tough playboy..."

"Hey, I'm no playboy! My heart's beating for you only!" Daiki protested while awkwardly kicking down his pants, feeling Taiga's stare on him.

"And now look away!!"

"Alright, cutie..." Taiga turned around with a smile and Daiki hesitantly pulled down his underwear, feeling uncomfortably exposed. He covered his dick with his hands reflexively when Taiga looked at him and snorted.

"You're such a virgin!"

"Well, you're one too! Now it's your turn!" Daiki shouted in ultimate embarrassment.

"F-fine! Yeah, okay, and you'll check the water in the meantime..."  
So Taiga started to get nervous too.

"Sure..." Daiki said and cleared his throat while awkwardly walking over to the shower and carefully opening the water tap. Of course the first surge of water was ice cold, and he couldn't help but shriek and jump backwards, right into what felt like a well-trained chest. Daiki blushed when Taiga managed to catch him in time, embarrassed of himself.

"S-seems like we have to wait until it gets warmer..." he then stated just to say _something_.

"Y-yeah..."

Daiki felt a bit pathetic, it was ridiculous how he was standing in front of Taiga, both of them refusing to look at the other while subconsciously trying to cover themselves.

"A-are you going in first...?" Taiga cleared his throat.

"S-sure..."  
Damn, Daiki was so lame right now! Seriously, why was it so hard for him to relax?!  
He warily stepped into the shower and warm water was hitting his leg, comforting him at least a bit. Daiki then let the small jets of water flow down his entire body as he placed himself underneath the showerhead.

"Are you coming?" he asked Taiga, feeling better with the water surrounding him and slowly washing away the mud on his skin.  
Daiki watched how his boyfriend stuck his head inside the shower, trying his best not to look at him.

"No. No, that's impossible! We won't have space at all!" Taiga shook his head, already retreating, but Daiki quickly grabbed his arm, catching the redhead by surprise.

"Now don't back off! You agreed! Where are your balls?!" Daiki pulled him inside a bit forcefully and Taiga stumbled in with his face as red as his hair.

"They're right here if you'd look down!" Taiga shouted and of course Daiki had to lower his eyes.

"H-hey! That didn't mean you were allowed to look!" he then protested a second later when Daiki started smirking.

"Yeah, as if..." Daiki chuckled, leaning over Taiga's shoulder and touching his back to close the glass door of the shower behind them.

"This... was a really bad idea..." Taiga huffed while squirming away from Daiki which wasn't really working since the shower was originally made for one person and not for two rather tall dudes. Daiki shivered with his back pressed against the cold shower wall, but at least the water was hot enough.

"We'll both die in here!" Taiga squeaked, his chest being pressed to Daiki's closely. Daiki looked at his red face, noticing his slightly panicked expression. All in all, it seemed like he didn't know the slightest bit how to handle this situation. Though Daiki had to say he wasn't really better, he at least tried to look like he had everything under control.

"Hey, what are you scared of?" Daiki asked him with a soft voice, having to close his eyes quickly when Taiga shifted awkwardly and the water was hitting his face. He then slowly extended his hand to stroke his boyfriend's wet hair out of his forehead.

"I... I dunno," Taiga pouted, looking away, but he'd relaxed a bit.

"Don't you think it's exciting?" Daiki grinned.

"Well, it's weird... but somehow in a good way...?" He smiled a bit unsurely and Daiki smiled back relieved. He just had to bent forward a bit to kiss him on his now wet lips. Taiga didn't respond at first, but after a few seconds, he hesitantly started to kiss him back.

"Uhuu, hey there, I feel something poking my leg..." Daiki grinned at him dirtily while watching how the other's face almost looked like it was about to explode.

"Well, sorry... It's your fault anyways," Taiga huffed.

"Not that I mind..."

"Oh God, this is _so_ awkward!" Taiga buried his face in his hands.

"Wow, you're big!" Daiki looked down at his boyfriend's hard dick that got pressed against his leg, a bit impressed by its size.

"I thought it would be smaller," he added with a smirk.

"Just shut up!"

"Mine is bigger! Definitely!"

"We're supposed to _shower!!"_

"Doesn't mean I can't examine your cock!" Daiki watched with arousal how the water droplets ran down Taiga's member.

"No, we're not doing this!!"

"Oh yeah? So you're giving in?"

"Fuck, no!"

Daiki grinned and flicked Taiga's nose with his finger, causing the other to complain before he looked down at their dicks again, holding his next to Taiga's. He heard how the redhead inhaled sharply at the touch.

"Ha, I was right!" Daiki blurted after having squinted his eyes at their genitals for at least one minute.

"Are you fucking blind?! They're totally the same size!" Taiga replied, blinking when he got water in his eyes.

"Oh, no, no, no! If you're looking exactly, then you'll see that mine is bigger!" Daiki protested, laying his forehead against Taiga's as they both stared down, the hot water hitting the backs of their heads.

"Well, I'm sorry if you can't live with that, but that's not true. Actually the veins on mine are larger, so I win!"

"I've got more of them!"

"But it's about the seize, you idiot!"

"Who said that?!"

"You!! This was-..." Taiga couldn't continue when Daiki suddenly wrapped his hand around their cocks, squeezing gently. The redhead moaned, laying his head down on Daiki's shoulder, in order to not have to look at him.

"I hate you..." he muttered weakly, causing Daiki to smile.

"No, you don't. Besides, you know what? My balls are bigger than yours!"

"Who the fuck cares about your balls?!" Taiga head-butted his shoulder.

"I guess you do..." Daiki smirked as an answer and slowly began sliding his hand up and down. Taiga moaned again, along with Daiki who really enjoyed the situation. Soon, the redhead's hand joined Daiki's, hesitantly at first, but he got into it when Daiki started rubbing more. Taiga began panting, his hot breath on the other's wet shoulder.

Daiki had to support himself against the shower wall the next moment, causing a squeaking noise with his hand slipping down the misted glass. He noticed how their skin had gotten slightly red from the water pouring down on them, but he couldn't care less.   
Daiki's breath got ragged as the speed of their hands increased. He would've never known it would feel that good to jerk off in the shower with Taiga. To say that it was amazing was an understatement.

Their hands found a rhythm that caused both of them to groan in pleasure, the water keeping on slickening their dicks up. Their breathing quickened and Daiki felt how Taiga grabbed onto his upper arm, his nose brushing his neck. He stroked Taiga's glans with his thumb, rubbing over his slit that was leaking precum. The redhead gasped, his hand cramping around Daiki's dick. The latter one muffled a moan into his boyfriend's neck and started to suck on the wet skin above his collar bone.

"F-fuck..." Taiga started whimpering quietly on his shoulder and Daiki could feel his tongue lapping his skin. He moaned again, reaching his climax way too fast when Taiga hugged him tightly. Their cum got washed away by the water as his boyfriend came just a second later, his body tensing up before he slowly relaxed again in Daiki's arms. They were both panting, that being the only noise along with the water pattering on their skin and on the shower floor.

"Woah..." Daiki was the first one to speak, breaking the ban of awkward silence.

"We were supposed to clean ourselves and not use up the hot water..." Taiga grumbled as an answer, still not letting go of Daiki.

"Uhh, well... I bet it's probably magic anyway, you know? Like an endless hot water source...?"

Taiga sighed, but Daiki could feel that he grinned since the lips on his shoulders stretched.

"We should stop, I'm already feeling like a wizened tomato..."

"Maybe, but you sure know it's only hot because I'm in here," Daiki smirked and earned a slap on his butt not a second later.

They exited the shower, of course with Taiga being a bit twisted between the urge to clean himself decently and the desperate need to dry his skin. In the end, they ended up putting on each other's clothes in the rush of awkwardness (not that Daiki had planned something like that...)  
But still, he and and Taiga were a lot more embarrassed than he'd thought.

When they went down, they apparently had missed lunch, caused by their rather long shower activity. But like this morning, Mrs Kuroko helped them out by handing them two plates with a big smile on her face.

"Where have you been so long?" Of course it was Satsuki asking that particular question.

"Taking a nice long shower, just like you suggested," Daiki grunted.

"And Taiga?"

"Uh... I showered too." Hell, Daiki hoped none of them would blush now.

"Daiki sure took his time..." Taiga added, faking a glare at him.

"My beauty is more important than yours, so that's self-evident!"

"Oh, are you looking for trouble right now?" he asked him warningly.

"Uhm, Taiga, is this Dai-chan's sweater you're wearing?" Satsuki suddenly squinted her eyes at them.

"Uh... no?"

"It totally is! And Dai-chan, I figure that is Taiga's shirt then?"

"Alright, Satsuki, you're obviously confused." Daiki cleared his throat, throwing himself on the couch in the living room.

"Oh, don't tell me you're wearing oversize all of a sudden!" Satsuki grinned while Tetsuya watched them with amusement.

"What the hell?! Oversize? Are you kidding me? It fits perfectly!" he replied, looking down on himself.

"It's a bit loose, but fine. Since when are you into tight sweaters, Taiga?" She turned around to the redhead who quickly looked aside.

"That's a bit exaggerated, I mean, it's not that tight..."  
Daiki had to agree with him for once, it wasn't like their build was that dissimilar. Maybe if one would squint at them like Satsuki did, they'd be able to spot a small difference, most likely by noticing that Taiga was in fact a bit broader than him, but it shouldn't be as drastic as Satsuki pictured it.

"You can tell me what you want, but there's definitely something going on!" The girl grinned and sat down next to Daiki and pulling Taiga next to her, so she sat between the two.

"I can't wait until I see you two dancing together at the Yule Ball," she sighed dreamily.

"Oh, no, not that again..." Daiki groaned when Kise entered the room.

"Aominecchi! Is that your owl?? I found him hopping around in the garden, what's his name?!"   
Quaffle was sitting in his hands, hooting excited as soon as she saw Daiki, picking at Kise to make him let her go.

"Ow!!" he complained.

"Serves you right! Quaffle is a lady after all," Daiki grinned when the small animal landed in his lap and shook her tiny wings.

"You called an owl _Quaffle?!"_

Daiki ignored him, paying attention to Quaffle instead.

"I can't believe you got here all by yourself, you're such a brave girl!" He gently petted her head with his index finger.

"You know that Nigou probably helped her? Also, she needed almost two days..." Tetsuya said with a light smile on his face.

"Oh, shut up! She totally did this on her own!" Daiki defended Quaffle and cupped her in his hands.

"Hey, wait, has she grown?" Taiga asked and leaned over Satsuki to have a closer look. Daiki brought the owl up to his face.

"You're right!" He grinned excited.

"I can't see a difference..." Satsuki furrowed her brows.

"Oh, you're just jealous you only have that ugly cat," Daiki replied.

"Excuse me?! Crookshanks is the cutest animal alive!"

"Ugh... That thing looks like it ran into a wall after being locked in a washing machine for three months!"

"Why are you always so mean?!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough!" Taiga interfered before Satsuki could jinx Daiki with some horrifying spell.

"They're both cute, alright? And Daiki, don't be an ass all the time," he scolded him, but as soon as he looked at his face, the redhead blushed madly and had to avert his gaze quickly.

"Uhm, the others are playing Gobstone right now, except Akashi who's learning for D.A.D.A. or something. I'm gonna join them," Kise informed them before walking away.

"I'm not in the mood," Daiki just said, setting Quaffle down to let her discover the surroundings.

"We could go outside and help Mrs Kuroko in the garden!" Satsuki suggested and Daiki groaned.

"That's even worse, I don't want to move!" he complained.

"Oh, come on! Let's go, Tetsuya, Taiga, if Dai-chan wants to be alone, he can stay on the couch for the rest of the week!" Satsuki stood up.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Daiki yawned as they made their way outside, grabbing their jackets.

"I heard the other members of the Order of the Phoenix will arrive soon," Tetsuya informed them.

"Hehe, then it's time to test the Extendable Ears!" Satsuki grinned, happily skipping next to them. Daiki noticed Taiga being off and bumped their shoulders together.

"Hey, man, you good?" he hummed, enjoying the warmth as their sides were pressed together.  
Taiga jolted a bit, but then smiled at Daiki without looking straight at him. Daiki frowned, figuring his boyfriend was still a bit embarrassed from earlier. Who could blame him?  
He rubbed the redhead's back comfortingly before they approached Mrs Kuroko fighting with a few rather aggressive plants, and offered to help her.

* * *

 

"Phew, that was exhausting. I'm grateful you helped me save the pumpkins," Mrs Kuroko smiled at them after one hour of burning weird magic vines with Incendio. She ruffled each of their hair, not even hesitating at Taiga which somehow made Daiki happy. He even had the feeling her hand rested on Taiga's head a bit longer.

"They're so wrong about you," Mrs Kuroko sighed while the redhead stared at her in surprise.

"You're no danger for us, they just don't understand. If someone's mean to you again, you'll have my back this time, alright?" She smiled again.

"Thank you..." Taiga muttered taken aback.

"Uhm... I'd like to help you prepare dinner if that's okay..." he added.

"I knew you're a polite boy! I'm glad you're friends with my son, and of course you can help me," she laughed and Daiki could sense that Taiga was relieved. He finally had someone in this house who stood behind him, someone who'd watch out and Daiki was thankful for that. His boyfriend needed to be protected after all.


	22. The Order of the Phoenix

It was already dark outside when someone was knocking on the door. Mr Kuroko opened it with a wide smile as soon as he saw Dumbledore standing in front of it.

"Good evening," the old wizard greeted him as he stepped inside. Daiki always felt at ease whenever he saw Dumbledore. If professor Trelawney hadn't babbled senseless shit about auras and stuff, he may have believed it had to do something with his charisma. And he'd also noticed it wasn't just him who felt that way in front of the old wizard.

The headmaster shortly smiled at him when spotting Daiki laying on the couch who was being forced to listen to Mr Midorima's bad puns. Dumbledore then vanished into the kitchen to thank Mrs Kuroko for her hospitality. If Daiki heard right, he was also talking to Taiga who'd been helping Tetsuya's mother for the last hour. The redhead sounded happy when responding to something Dumbledore had asked him which made Daiki smile.

"Oh, Mr Daiki, that one was pretty good, right?" Mr Midorima laughed next to him, still telling him jokes without noticing that Daiki had been thinking about something entirely else.

Soon, everyone was gathered inside the now crowded living room, waiting for dinner, the adults talking like they always did, and the others being bored and hungry.  
Someone knocked at the door again and Alastor Moody walked in, grumbling an excuse for being late. Kise always squeaked frightened when he saw him, still scared by his magic eye that could also look through the back of his head. Lupin and Shacklebolt arrived after Moody, and though Daiki was very happy to see his former D.A.D.A. teacher, his good mood got blown away as soon as he saw Snape standing a little offside, glaring as always. Daiki huffed irritated, not liking the fact that the snake belonged to the Order of the Phoenix. He'd always had the opinion that Snape was a death eater, as dark as he was. Daiki didn't know why Dumbledore trusted him, even Satsuki and Tetsuya agreed that Snape was kinda suspicious.

Everyone went silent when Taiga entered the living room, though he already tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. All gazes were directed at him, and Daiki saw how the redhead slumped together nervously, trying to make himself as small as possible. Akashi's parents were glaring at him, so were Kise's and Murasakibara's. Moody's false eye flipped around in excitement while Lupin watched Taiga with neutral interest. And of course there was Snape who just stared at the ground. The only ones smiling at Taiga were Daiki, Tetsuya, Satsuki and Dumbledore himself.

"I... I just wanted to say dinner is ready..." he informed them quietly, his voice shy and high, intimidated by all the people observing him.

"Great! I was starving!" Daiki laughed happily to resolve the tension, jumping up from the couch and patting Taiga on the back before making his way into the kitchen.

It really was a feast. They were lucky all of them still fit into the kitchen and to everyone's surprise, the food wasn't burned even the slightest bit. Murasakibara was drooling at the sight of the roast pork in front of him and of course got scolded by his mother to behave. Daiki couldn't get his eyes off the golden potatoes that screamed for him to be eaten.  
Since everyone knew Mrs Kuroko wasn't exactly the best at cooking, they all thought the same:  
_How is this possible?!_

"You may dig in!" Mrs Kuroko laughed at their surprised, almost shocked faces.   
That was Daiki's favorite sentence this evening as he started to fill his plate as quick as possible, Taiga doing the same right next to him. But still, someone had to disrupt Daiki's happiness. He almost hadn't heard it, but it was Mr Akashi sitting across from them who was eyeing Taiga's plate.

"What a waste of food..." he growled and Daiki stopped chewing, thinking about something to fire back when he angrily squished a potato with his fork. But Mrs Kuroko beat him to it.

"You know what? Taiga has been the one who made the food while I only handed him the ingredients! How comes you even think I could make something eatable without burning it?" she said as if she wanted to mock him. Mr Akashi narrowed his eyes at her, surprised that she stood up against him.

"I can't believe this..." he hissed, dropping the cutlery on the table.

"You don't? There's the door. Wait in the living room until we're done eating," she ordered coldly, walking behind Taiga and placing her hands on his shoulders.  
Mr Akashi was more than infuriated by now, everyone in the room could sense that. He angrily flared his nostrils before standing up harshly and leaving the room with long quick steps.

When Daiki looked over to the man's son, he saw an expression of uncertainty on his face. Akashi probably thought about following his father, but when his mother looked at him sternly, he stayed.

"Is that true? You really cooked everything, Taiga?" Satsuki asked him amazed, her eyes sparkling when she looked at him.

"Y-yeah, well, I just like... cooking," the redhead responded while Mrs Kuroko proudly ruffled his red hair until it was completely tousled.

"He's pretty talented. Taiga even managed to teach me," she laughed before sitting down again, ignoring the now empty place next to her.

"I also have to admit, that's impressive," Lupin smiled at him and Taiga blushed because of the many compliments he got.

"Thank you..." he muttered happily.

"Oh yeah, now that I know you can cook, I'll totally marry you, man," Daiki joked and nudged him with his elbow in the side. How lucky his boyfriend had already been red before.

"Sure, Dai-chan, we know you adore him..." Satsuki giggled and Daiki shortly considered throwing a potato at her.

"That's a rather hazardous choice in spouse, though. No offense, Mr Kagami, the more dangerous, the better," Moody commented and at least a few present people who already got to know his humor rolled their eyes.

"What are we even talking about. I already see Daidai marrying Romilda Vane! Oh, their marriage is gonna be so wonderful..." Mrs Kise raved, her son shouting an embarrassed "Mom!!"

The conversation went on, it mostly was a happy one, splitting up in more at some point. Laughter filled the room at times, and though Daiki wasn't talking, he was content with listening to Taiga's voice. Said one was talking to Lupin and Daiki got the feeling they got along right from the beginning.  
Maybe he was wrong, but he assumed that Lupin understood Taiga the most and the other way around. It was no secret anymore that the former Hogwarts professor was a werewolf and sure had his hard times because of it. And since Taiga was a Half-breed, though Daiki still didn't know which species, there was some kind of connection between them.

It was late, but not too late when he started to get bored, playing with the redhead's hand under the table, laying it in his, curling Taiga's fingers and stroking his knuckles. Of course his foot got kicked several times, but Daiki just grinned, enjoying the flustered gazes Taiga would throw at him.

Soon, the children got sent upstairs, a sign for the assembly of the Order of the Phoenix to begin. It wasn't hard to spot the fat grin on Satsuki's face when the adults moved into the living room without noticing the thin pink thread that was hidden underneath the now closed door.

"Perfect!" she whispered victoriously, leading the other end of the seemingly endless Extendable Ears with her up the stairs.  
All of them went up to the first floor, standing closely to each other while Satsuki handed them one end of the thread each.

"This is seriously amazing!" Taiga whispered while the others watched their string rather sceptically.

"I know! You can hear everything as if you really were in the same room as them!" Satsuki said proudly, holding her end of the Extendable Ears close to her own ear.

"I still don't wanna stick this into my ear..." Kise whined, holding his string between two fingers.

"You don't have to _stick_ it inside, you dumbass! If it's near your ear, it should be fine too!" she rolled her eyes.

"I can't help but feel unwell by doing this. We're not allowed to-..."

"Shhh, I think they're starting!" Daiki interrupted Midorima and supported himself on the wooden banister that slightly creaked under his weight.  
Everyone wore a concentrated look as the mumbling in the living room died down when someone cleared their throat, assumably Dumbledore. It was just like Satsuki had said, the words were as clear as if Daiki stood right next to him.

"I think it's time, after we have filled our stomachs, that we dedicate our thoughts to something more serious," he began and Daiki could almost see him looking at everyone in the room above the edge of his glasses.

"I'm content to see that the Order of the Phoenix comes together once again after so much time, and after we all had to handle many tragical losses.  
I'm sure you know what made us gather today.   
Lord Voldemort..." Dumbledore made a pause after saying his name, and Daiki could bet that there were at least a few people shuddering.

"...is currently aiming for something. Something, that must not fall into his hands. Everyone of you without exception, has already heard of the Time-Turner that's hidden in Durmstrang."

"That's only a rumour, you could even call it a tale! There's no prove it even exists!"   
Daiki needed a bit to recognize the voice, but he was sure it was Mr Kise.  
The old wizard chuckled.

"Then tell me, how many times have those tales been completely wrong?  
What I'm wanting to say is, Lord Voldemort knows something we don't, and we have to stop him either way."

"Fine, so all of us know there's a overpowered Time-Turner hidden inside the hundred or two hundred dungeons of Durmstrang, allegedly protected by a maybe thousand year old dragon. I think he's got enough to do with that. I say we wait a bit more," Moody grunted, at least Daiki could always distinguish his voice from all the others.

"Wow, that sounds like this muggle story! What was its name again... the Blobbit?" Of course that was Mr Midorima.

"Hobbit!" Mr Kuroko corrected him with a short laugh until someone else sighed in annoyance.

"We can't wait, Alastor. Igor is keeping me up to date and there have apparently been death eaters around Durmstrang," Dumbledore answered.

"Igor Karkaroff? I believe he's rather working with Voldemort than us!" Mrs Murasakibara threw in, earning assenting murmur.

"He's our only friend at Durmstrang, and it would be easier if you'd learn to trust him too."

"Alright, but what would even happen _if_ You-know-who gets that special Time-Turner?" Mrs Kuroko asked.

"As you probably already know, this Time-Turner is able to make done things undone, in contrary to the Time-Turners known to us. That means nothing of that, even this moment, would be happening if Lord Voldemort possesses it.   
With the help of it, he could travel back several years with the knowledge what will happen in the future.  
That's going to be the worst case. The world we know won't be existing anymore, and I hope all of you get how serious this topic is. Most of us would be dead by then, the first one getting killed is Daiki. That's where everything would start." A heavy silence filled the room and Daiki looked up to see Taiga staring at him with worry in his eyes, his hand carefully linking with his without the others noticing.

"How do we stop him," Snape said coldly, not really letting it sound like a question.

"We'll prepare ourselves for a war. Soon, death eaters will invade Durmstrang, it's just a matter of time until they find the school. Karkaroff will give us a sign by then. Our problem is that we just know too less," Dumbledore responded.

"I'm still not willing to set our chances on Karkaroff!" Mr Kise emphasized.

"It's no secret he's been a death eater, and once you agreed following the Dark Lord, you can't just stop like that," Mrs Akashi agreed.

"It's the same with this kid running around here, though. Kagami has been Lord Voldemort's right hand before he died two years ago. And now we're having his goddamn son close to our children!" Mrs Murasakibara sounded angry, and Daiki felt how Taiga froze next to him and slowly retreated his hand.

"By all respect, Albus, I hope you'll understand soon that this has been a bad choice. The Kagamis were infamous for destroying lives, for killing without scruple. I'm sure many of you have lost friends or family because of them.  
And now you want me to accept their brat inside this house, talking to our children we're supposed to protect. He's already too close to Daiki, that has to stop," Mr Akashi added when his seemingly favorite topic was finally discussed.

"If you weren't that blind, you'd see he's nothing like his parents. Taiga is nice, he's kind and he's always trying to help! That's not someone who's working with You-know-who!" Mrs Kuroko defended the redhead.

"I'm blind?! Why are _you_ protecting him?! Did you forget what he is? Even if he wanted to be on our side, he can't and he'll never be.   
And if that wasn't enough, it disgusts me to even look at this... this monstrosity. His face, those fucking eyes and hair, he exactly looks like his father's younger version, and I have no doubts that he really is.  
The ministry should've eliminated him after that incident or at least locked him away in Azkaban!" he barked angrily. Taiga had gripped onto the banister tightly, his tendons tautening on the back of his hands.

"Would you please calm down?! Your hate towards him won't exactly help us," Lupin replied angrily.

"I'm just saying that it's not safe around him and I'd be a lot more relieved when he'd be in Azkaban!"

"Stop it with Azkaban now, he's a child!" Mrs Kuroko's voice sounded infuriated.

"He already was in Azkaban."  
Perplexed gasps followed Dumbledore's words.  
Upstairs, everyone looked at Taiga in slight shock, but the redhead wore a surprised expression himself. He was shaking slightly and the look in his eyes seemed hurt.

"What?!" Mr Midorima expressed his confusion.

"It's true. After what happened in Durmstrang, they took him away. I've searched Mr Kagami for weeks until I found him in Azkaban, at the edge of sanity. If I would've been there a day later, I probably couldn't have saved him, you can't imagine how quickly you lose your mind in one of those cells. It wasn't easy to get him out, and I think he'd also left a part of his humanity in there.  
Luckily, Mr Kagami doesn't remember anything since I managed to obliviate him. He's thinking that I directly brought him to Hogwarts after he's been expelled from Durmstrang," Dumbledore answered calmly. Daiki noticed how Taiga paled next to him, the others overhearing the ongoing conversation, glancing at Taiga from time to time. Daiki got closer to the redhead, placing his hand on his back to tell him _"it's okay"._

"At least tell us why you did that, Albus. Azkaban was the right place for him, someone who had parents like him can never be exactly sane. You just made him a threat for all of us!" It sounded like Mr Akashi had slammed his hand on the table.

"Please consider, if I hadn't come to get him, who would've come else? There were reports about Lord Voldemort arriving at Azkaban too, slaughtering most of the guards after finding an empty cell." There was a slight bit of annoyance hidden in Dumbledore's voice.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would You-know-who look for Kagami's son? Why should he be useful for him?" Mrs Kise asked.

"For war of course. The more he got on his side, the better and I have no doubts Mr Kagami would have followed the Dark Lord if he'd been the one to rescue him, to give him back his wand and a new chance. And since our little problem child is a special case, he'd do fatal damage if he were against us," Moody explained.

"Why not eliminate him then?! He has no use for us, but if he has one for Lord Voldemort, we should get rid of him as quick as possible!" Mr Akashi yelled.

"If we'd be doing that, we won't be better than You-know-who himself, okay?! He's a kid and there's no reason to just take his life!" Mrs Kuroko shouted back.

"Oh, there is! The only reason you don't get to see a fucking Half-breed everyday is because most of them get eliminated by the Ministry. And not just because they're malformations, but extremely dangerous!"

"Hey, slow down a bit, okay?!" Lupin interfered.   
Daiki saw how Taiga's knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the banister once again while the others started whispering, Kise freaking out about the fact that the redhead was a Half-breed.

"Oh, well, Mr Akashi," Moody suddenly began laughing.

"Just try and _eliminate_ Mr Kagami. You won't get far because I'm pretty convinced that Mr Aomine will rip your head off first!"

"Why are they so close anyways? We should keep him away from our children, especially from Daiki," Mrs Akashi said.

"It's too late for that already. Daiki's never been so close to anyone before. And also, we can't make Mr Kagami feel like he's a prisoner. Who says he won't switch sides?" Mr Kuroko replied.

"That's exactly it. That kid is a time bomb!" Mrs Murasakibara emphasized.

"No, he's not. As long as we'll trust him and he trusts us, he won't just support Lord Voldemort. His deep friendship with Daiki is an advantage, something that keeps him with us," Dumbledore replied.

"So that's it?! We only treat him nice so he isn't turning against us?!"   
Daiki didn't know Tetsuya's mother could sound that angry, but no one responded to that.

"Also, I know you solved it with the help of the Room of Requirement, but that won't work forever, Albus. In order for him to survive, Mr Kagami has no choice but to-..."  
Mr Kise's voice broke off when Taiga had suddenly grabbed the strings that connected the Extendable Ears and pulled at them harshly, so the end underneath the door got dragged away.

"Hey, are you crazy??!" Kise angrily stared at Taiga who turned around without another word and quickly walked up the stairs to his room, a stoned expression on his face.

"Taiga!" Daiki shouted as quiet as he could, but the other ignored him.

"Great, we're done here. It's impossible to stick the thread underneath the door again without being noticed," Midorima sighed, sounding pretty pissed while letting go of his line. Kuroko and Satsuki both seemed like they felt sorry for Taiga, worriedly looking after him. Murasakibara huffed in annoyance while Akashi just stared absently at the wall across from them.

"I'll get him," Daiki said, already halfway up the stairs.

"We're meeting in Tetsuya's room later, we still have to discuss our plan!" Satsuki informed him and Daiki nodded.

He came to a halt in front of his room, pushing the door handle down, but the door was locked.

"Taiga! It's me, please open up!" Daiki shouted, banging at the door now which probably wasn't the best idea.

"Hey, I know you're in there! Taiga, please..."   
Still no response.

"Alohomora!" Daiki shouted the spell that normally should be able to open locked doors, but it wasn't working. He cursed while trying to stay calm.

"Taiga, hey..." he whispered more softly, his hands still on the door.

"Go away."  
Taiga's voice was cold, but Daiki knew him too good, hearing the desperateness inside it.   
He didn't want Daiki to go away.

"Nope, and if I'm standing here forever!" he refused.

"Go. Away." Taiga growled from the other side of the door.

"Forget it!"

"Daiki, I'm serious!"

"No, you're not! I don't care what they said! And if you don't open the door now, I swear I'll break it down!"  
Taiga wasn't responding and Daiki waited a bit longer before starting to talk again.

"Hey, man, I love you, alright? I really do, so please let me in, Taiga." Being gentle apparently helped because Daiki heard how the other hesitantly unlockened the door and carefully opened it. As soon as he saw Taiga's red, slightly swollen eyes, he felt bad and a wave of worry washed over him.

"Hey... Hey, it's fine," he whispered concerned, walking in and closing the door behind him, embracing Taiga. The redhead just stayed in his arms, his chest heaving, his breathing quick and shaky.

"Shhh shhh, everything's alright," Daiki continued to comfort him as he pushed Taiga's face into his neck, softly stroking the back of his head. The redhead still said nothing, his arms hanging limply at his sides as he let Daiki hug him. Taiga quietly started sobbing, causing Daiki to tighten his arms around him, consolingly rubbing his back. Something wet touched his cheek, assuring that tears now quietly rolled down Taiga's face.

They stood there for what felt like an eternity. Daiki inhaled deeply while kissing Taiga's hair, the latter one still crying. When Daiki looked at him, his boyfriend closed his eyes, his lashes sticky from all his tears, his eyelids red. He knew the conversation had been too much for him. He'd been treated like an object, his life was unworthy to some and for others he had no use. Daiki was thankful that at least Mrs Kuroko gave her best to defend Taiga. But still, he didn't want to imagine what his boyfriend went through right now, what he had to feel in this moment.  
He wiped Taiga's tears away with his thumb, laying his hand on the heated skin of his cheek.

"Taiga, look at me," Daiki hummed softly, the other's eyes still closed. Taiga shook his head, a hoarse whimper escaping his throat, his body shaking slightly. He flinched when Daiki kissed his forehead, his hands still cupping his face.

"Just open your eyes."  
And for a second, Taiga did so, looking at him with watery eyes, his pupils blown and Daiki watched how they got smaller when adjusting to the light. He shut them again when Daiki smiled and hold him against his chest.

"I love you, Taiga. I love you so much," he whispered, taking Taiga's limp hand into his own and squeezing it gently. Though it was weak and hesitantly, Daiki was glad when the redhead squeezed back, his touch so light as if a butterfly landed on Daiki's hand. He slowly walked backwards and sat down on the bed carefully, pulling Taiga with him. Daiki then laid down, positioning his boyfriend next to him, so they were face to face. He threw his arms around Taiga again, holding him close. The other wasn't moving, but he warily nuzzled his face into Daiki's neck.

At least he's stopped crying, Daiki thought, softly caressing his boyfriend's cheek. He spread small reassuring kisses on his head while Taiga's breathing calmed down, his body relaxing in Daiki's arms. His lips kissed his boyfriend's forehead again as he petted his hair lovingly. Soon, Taiga's breath became longer, tickling Daiki's skin as he fell asleep.

Daiki smiled at him with half lidded eyes, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight of his boyfriend's sleeping face. He stayed a bit longer, listening to Taiga's peaceful breathing before he carefully pulled his arms away and stood up as silently as possible. The redhead whimpered in his sleep when the warmth next to him disappeared. Daiki reached out for the blanket, covering him with it by pulling the thick layers of fabric up to his shoulders. He then bent down, letting his lips touch Taiga's for a short moment. There was almost no pressure behind the kiss, it was daintily like their very first one.

Daiki opened the door, his eyes sticking to Taiga as he stood in the doorframe for a few more minutes. He then quietly closed the door behind him and made his way to Tetsuya's room.

* * *

 

"Dai-chan, you're late! And where's Taiga?" Satsuki asked as soon as he entered the room, finding the others sitting on the floor in a circle, the Durmstrang book Daiki got with the help of Slughorn laying in the middle.

"He's asleep. I'll explain everything to him later," he responded tiredly, squeezing himself between Tetsuya and Kise.

"So have you calmed Kagami down? After what we heard, it's better to not upset him," Midorima said sternly.

"Shut up!" Daiki barked slightly aggressive, causing Midorima to scowl.

"But honestly, did you know Kagamicchi is a Half-breed?? I don't know if I wanna be friends with him anymore... But I'm so curious to find out to which other species he belongs!"

"If the only thing you're doing here is making Taiga down, I might as well leave," Daiki growled, glaring at Kise who seemed to shrink under his gaze.

"Okay, okay, listen, everyone!" Satsuki demanded, pulling at Daiki's sleeve to prevent him from going away.

"Dai-chan, I already told them what the reason behind our plan is and how dangerous it is. The reactions were... quite different..."

"Yeah, right! This is scary, I don't really want to go to Durmstrang and fight You-know-who!" Kise shouted desperately.

"Though we'd miss school, we have to stop He Who Must Not Be Named at any cost. The plan is risky, but we can't let him get the Time-Turner," Midorima said, pushing up his glasses.

"I'm not in the mood for this. Why don't we leave that to the adults?" Murasakibara groaned.

"Because they're not doing anything! They're waiting for Karkaroff to give them a sign, but we can't rely on that. We have to do this ourselves," Akashi explained with his serious voice.

"Alright, I'll tell you the date now. Since I heard Hogwarts will be increasing its security, we'd get caught if we just leave all of a sudden. Our only chance is the Yule Ball. We'll start in the night when everyone is still in the Great Hall. No one will miss us until the day after," Satsuki informed them, glaring at anyone who wasn't listening.

"And then? Where is Durmstrang even located?!" Kise asked and Satsuki opened the book's first page, revealing a world map.

"There's no name for that place, but it's gotta be in the north of Norway." Satsuki pointed at the cross on the map that was attached to a red glowing line which was connected to another cross, symbolising Hogwarts.

"Norway?! Are you kidding me?" Daiki groaned, staring at the map with a concentrated look.

"Well, it's obvious. Northern Europe, lots off snow, short and chilly summers, of course Durmstrang is in Scandinavia," Midorima stated.

"It's gonna be hard to get there, though. Since we can't apparate yet and don't want to splinch into two halves, it will take us some time to make our way to Durmstrang. Also, we have to use the country route because flying overseas is dangerous with broomsticks." Satsuki began flipping the pages.

"Another problem is that some of our broomsticks aren't suited for such a long trip and taking two people on one broomstick would be counterproductive," Tetsuya reminded them of said fact.

"That's right. My Firebolt and Taiga's Thunderbolt will work, maybe even Akashi's Nimbus 2001, but the rest is crap," Daiki agreed and got jabbed by Tetsuya who was pretty proud of his Comet 260 that just got insulted.

"One option could be Hagrid's Griffin. If we'd get to control it, it will be able to carry at least three of us. Tetsuya, you already flied with it, so maybe it's not impossible," Akashi speculated.

"That's a good idea, but that still leaves two people." Satsuki furrowed her brows in concentration.

"Wait, wait, wait, who even said I'd be coming with you?" Murasakibara suddenly said.

"I'm not in the mood for getting myself killed on a dangerous journey!"

"Atsushi!" Akashi's eyes were drilling through the taller wizard.

"You _are_ coming with us, we need everyone. If you're joining us or just waiting for death is almost the same."

"Ugh..." Kise gulped.

"That sounded like we're doomed..."

"It doesn't change the fact that we've got a problem, though," Satsuki changed back to their original topic.

"Hey, what about the Pegasus?!" Kise threw in.

"The what...?" Daiki frowned.

"Oh, Aominecchi, don't you remember? We've once raised a Pegasus in Care of Magical Creatures as a project!" Kise looked at him excited.

"That's genius!" Satsuki's eyes started sparkling.

"But it hasn't shown up in a long time and we have no connection to it, so that won't work without even mentioning the fact we never flied it before," Midorima replied.

"Well, thanks, you pessimist!" Daiki sneered.

"A Pegasus responds to strong feelings such as desperation. Maybe, just maybe, it'll hear that we need it," Satsuki said.

"We can't rely on that. If it won't approach us, our plan is done for good."

"If we won't be able to figure something out until the Yule Ball, the Pegasus is our only chance," Tetsuya stated.

"Yeah, so please activate your brain cells until then. But let's say, the thing with the Pegasus works, we still can't access Durmstrang directly. There's a secret train, like the Hogwarts Express which is the only way to get there. It's gonna be dangerous since we're practically intruders, but I'm sure we'll find a solution when the time is right." Satsuki looked into the round, searching for agreement in the others' faces.

"As far as good, but what is our exact route until we arrive at the train station?" Akashi asked. Satsuki cleared her throat.

"Alright, we're heading south first, crossing the North Sea and continuing to fly along Belgium's coast, through the Netherlands and Germany, until we arrive at Denmark where the train will take us directly to Durmstrang," she summed up in one sentence.

"Shit, that sounds like a world trip! Why aren't we flying directly over the North Sea again?" Daiki asked a bit intimidated.

"Even your broomstick won't be able to withstand the weather conditions on open water, plus, we can't make breaks there and when something unexpectedly happens, we can't do anything," she explained.

"Also, if the train station is really in Denmark, the country route is almost as long as the one over the sea," Akashi added.

"Okay, I got it," Daiki sighed.

"How long will it take us to follow that route?" Midorima asked.

"If we're only pausing to sleep and eat, a week should be enough. You have to add that the train itself will need one whole day."

"That should be possible as long as we've got enough food and money with us," Tetsuya nodded to himself.

"What about that train, though? It won't just go from Denmark to Durmstrang everyday..." Midorima thought out loud.

"Luckily, if my calculations are right, we should arrive there at the end of Durmstrang's autumn holiday. We'll disguise ourselves as students and get into the school that way. From there on, it will be on Taiga to lead us to the dungeons. I'm still searching information about the Time-Turner, but I'm pretty sure our plan will succeed!" Satsuki winked at them, energetic as she was, confident in their mission.

"Woah, alright, that's a lot to remember..." Daiki admitted.

"Don't worry, we still have enough time," Tetsuya reassured him and Satsuki nodded.

"It's pretty late. I guess our meeting is over, you're dismissed," she grinned. The others stood up tiredly, Kise complaining about his leg that fell asleep, everyone leaving the room with yawns.

As Daiki was about to enter his room, he felt how someone grabbed his shoulder. He turned around to see Akashi staring at him with his different colored eyes.

"This time, I'll allow it. Just so he won't leave and does any damage on us. Make him feel like he's welcome."   
The smaller wizard left before Daiki could snarl something at him. Maybe it was better like this, he didn't need a fight with Akashi right now, although the latter one was pissing him off once again. At least he wouldn't do something against him staying with Taiga tonight.

He quietly opened the door, finding his redhead as he'd left him. Daiki smiled as he carefully laid down next to him under the blanket, inhaling his scent before closing his eyes.  
He was too tired to be bothered about the fact he and Taiga were still wearing their clothes from before, but that didn't matter anyways.  
Tomorrow, he'd wake up with his boyfriend in his arms.


	23. Gentleman

Daiki woke up because something was tickling his nose. He opened his eyes, his first thought being "Is Taiga still here??"   
But when he looked down, he sighed relieved. Daiki's face was above Taiga's fiery red hair that had caused him to wake up. He was still asleep in his arms. Daiki then noticed how hot it was with his boyfriend pressed against him for the whole night, plus the blanket saving their body heat. The fact that he still wore his clothes from yesterday wasn't helping, along that he was sweating like hell. But nevertheless, he refused to let go of Taiga.   
Should he wake him up?

Daiki thought of what had happened yesterday, how he'd felt bad when listening to the conversation in the living room, how he'd felt even worse when he embraced his crying boyfriend. He had to admit, he'd been rather shocked when Dumbledore said he rescued Taiga from Azkaban. Daiki shuddered. He didn't want to think of what it probably was like to be in there. He had the urge to protect Taiga, from everything.   
Daiki hugged him closer, they just belonged together.

But still, the heat slowly got unbearable with the blanket on top of them, so he kicked it away before entangling his legs with Taiga's again. He decided to let him sleep a bit longer, so he could study his face without the other scowling at him and calling him a pervert. Daiki smiled. He never would've thought that he'd be so much happier with a cute, yet mysterious boyfriend at his side instead of Romilda Vane.   
He raised his hand to caress Taiga's cheek, but just as his fingertips touched his skin, the redhead's eyes snapped open widely, staring at Daiki intensely.

"Woah..." Daiki pulled his hand away before placing it around Taiga's back again.

"Hey, morning. Sorry if I woke you up," Daiki grinned despite Taiga's rather unexpected reaction. But it seemed like the other wasn't in the mood for talking, avoiding to look at him. Daiki frowned concerned.

"Taiga," he hummed, but the redhead just turned around, facing Daiki with his back.

"Oh, is someone in a bad mood?" Daiki bent his head forward to press his lips against Taiga's nape, kissing a line up the warm skin.

"Do I have to tickle it out of you?" he grinned attemptingly when there was still no response. Daiki really started to worry by now.

"Stop it, Daiki. Don't pretend like this is something ridiculous." Taiga's voice was rough and hoarse from sleep.

"I'm sorry, but you know you can talk to me," Daiki said softly, glad that the other was finally speaking.

"I know."  
They both were quiet after that.

"Taiga, I _really_ don't care what they say. I don't care that you were in Azkaban, I don't care that your parents did horrible things, I don't care that you-..."

"I think it's better for you if we'd break up."

It was like as if Daiki had forgotten to breathe. What had Taiga said? Had he heard him wrong?

"What...?" Daiki asked a bit dumbfounded, staring at the back of Taiga's head, not blinking until his eyes started to sting. Why would he say something like that? He began shaking slightly as he hugged him closer, scared of what Taiga would tell him next.

"I just realized... that you'd be safer without me. Also, everyone else would approve of that too because you really _do_ have a reputation. I don't want to destroy it. It would be easier for you like that..." His voice was quiet, but stable and that scared Daiki even more. His throat felt dry all of a sudden.

"Taiga, no..." he whispered, his mouth hanging open in shock. He couldn't believe what the other was saying.

"Daiki, I don't deserve you. You're always there for me, you comfort me, you're defending me without considering the consequences! And I... I've never given you anything back. I have the feeling I... that I j-just can't." Taiga's voice sounded shaky as it cracked towards the end, resolving into a silent whimper. So he couldn't be that cold after all.  
Weirdly, Daiki was relieved and angry at the same time. Relieved that Taiga also didn't want to break up with him willingly, at least not completely, but angry because the redhead thought he could just do so. In the end, Daiki's anger won as he grabbed Taiga and flipped them around, so he was on top of him. The redhead looked at him surprised while Daiki glared at him from above.

"Alright, listen, _Kagami!_ How do you even _dare_ breaking up with me, huh?! Especially after I've told you a thousand times how much I frickin love you! How comes you're telling me that now? Don't you trust me?? Do you really think I'd care more about anything else than you?!" he shouted, causing Taiga to flinch, but he was captured between Daiki's arms.

"I thought I am the selfish one! So why do you question my love for you all the time? Why can't you just accept it?! You're always asking me _why are you doing this for me_ or _is this really true,_ as if the answer isn't clear! We belong together, and nothing, absolutely _nothing_ will change that. So maybe consider this again, do you really wanna break my heart? Go ahead then!" It almost satisfied Daiki to look into Taiga's pale face, how he stared at him in shock. His lower lip began quivering as he wound his arms around Daiki and pulled him down, hiding his face in his shoulder. He wasn't crying, but Daiki could feel Taiga's quick heartbeat.

"And you don't have to give me anything back, you know? If you say that you love me, that's more than enough," Daiki growled a bit more gently, combing with his hand through his boyfriend's hair. Taiga's eyes were shut tightly, his hands clasping onto Daiki's back as he gave in.

"You'll have to promise me one thing, though." Daiki smiled again, glad that his boyfriend's facade had broken. He knew him too well after all.

"Never do something like this again. Never ask me again if I'm really sure about this, alright?" he mumbled into Taiga's ear.

"Yeah... I promise," the redhead smiled weakly and Daiki was more than happy when Taiga hesitantly flashed a toothy grin at him a moment later.

"We good again?" Daiki hummed, pinching his boyfriend's nose, having forgiven him already.

"Yes, yes, we are. Thank you, Daiki," he smiled sincerely and Daiki lifted his head to look at him.

"I'm glad. I know you've got it hard almost all the time, but you shouldn't be ashamed of yourself when you need me to comfort you or to talk to you. You're not a bother for me, and I know how serious everything is. But I'll always be there for you." Daiki's grin widened when Taiga blushed happily and placed one hand on his cheek.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," he laughed quietly as he caressed the soft skin with his thumb.

"Oh, that's nothing new!" Daiki smirked, relieved that he could joke again.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'd be doing without you. And I'm sorry, I just thought... that you'd grow tired of me after everything. But I've been so wrong, you are... the most trustworthy person I ever had the pleasure to meet!" Taiga grinned when Daiki cupped his face.

"Oh well, thank you, handsome, but since we're two stupid teenagers, let's just forget the serious stuff and have the best time of our lives!" He bent down to kiss the redhead fully on the lips while shoving his hands under his shirt. The kiss was short-lived though when both of them grimaced.

"Dude, never heard of a toothbrush before?!" Taiga coughed.

"Hey, you're not better!"

"Woah, you even stink! Are those our clothes from yesterday?! Not even saying it's my shirt that's now soaked with your sweat!" Taiga groaned, demonstratively holding his nose.

"Oh, well, if that doesn't scream for a shower..." Daiki smirked seductively at his boyfriend.

"Forget it! We're not doing this again!" Taiga refused with a red face.

"Aww, why not?! Didn't it feel good?" Daiki faked a sad sniff.

"Okay, it did, but it was totally embarrassing!"

"We'll just get used to this! Also, I didn't really get the chance to worship your perfect ass or your whole naked glory!" Daiki wiggled his eyebrows.

"Ugh... What the hell, no!"

"But I really wanna suck your-..."

Taiga had grabbed the pillow and thrown it into Daiki's face before the latter one could end his sentence.

"Ouch!!"

"What's it with you wanting to lick my nipples?! Is that some kind of weird... f-fetish? What's even so special about them?!" he growled, his head looking like it was about to explode.

"Hey, you have no right to accuse me, I was going to say dick!!" Daiki defended himself.

"Wha-..." Taiga's face was as red as a tomato.

"Well, that's not better!" he shouted.

"It is!"

"And how would you know that?!"

"I already touched it, so why not?"

That moment, the door to their room opened and Satsuki was sticking her head inside, her face as red as Taiga's.

"S-satsuki!!" Daiki yelled surprised, his voice slightly pitching as he frantically tried to cover Taiga with the blanket which was too late anyways.

"I knew it!! I knew it the whole time!!" she grinned at them with wide eyes.

"Does it work to say it's not what it looks like...?" Taiga grumbled, shoving Daiki's hand away that was pressing the blanket into his face.

"Not exactly, since you may have forgotten that you can hear everything through the walls..." She cocked one eyebrow while Daiki and Taiga stared at each other dumbfounded.

"So, you showered together?"   
Both of them stared at the ceiling while Daiki prayed that the others hadn't heard them too. As if Satsuki could read his thoughts, she smiled at him.

"Don't worry, they already went down for breakfast. We're the only ones here. But seriously, Dai-chan, you're finally growing up!! I'm so happy for you!" She crashed him in a hug that sent him flying backwards.

"Okay, okay, let me go!" he coughed, his eyes searching Taiga's for help, but the latter one just grinned at him.

"I knew right from the beginning you're meant for each other! Right from the beginning!! Though I honestly thought you two would need longer to figure it out." Satsuki shortly let go of Daiki, only to pull Taiga into the hug too.

"Well, it just kinda happened..." Daiki grumbled embarrassed.

"Oh, no, no, no! You're not getting away with this! I need to know the details! How? When? Where?" she asked overly excited.

"Ugh... Later, alright?"

"Pleeease..." Satsuki pouted at him.

"Nope! We're hungry and have to eat breakfast, right, Taiga? And don't you dare telling anyone, Satsuki!" Daiki refused and warned her to not spill the beans in front of their friends.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll find everything out, eventually. But once again, I'm _so_ proud of you, I love you both!! My ship has sailed!!" She stood up and throws one fist into the air victoriously.

"Why's she talking about ships now... In Durmstrang we had one, you know? It's pretty cool..." Taiga whispered to Daiki in slight confusion.  
The other rolled his eyes, smiling at Taiga's lack of understanding.

"Come on now, or we'll miss breakfast again." He cleared his throat, trying to get out of the room. Satsuki suddenly squinted her eyes at them.

"By Merlin's growling gargoyle, you two stink!"

"That's called manliness, Satsuki, you wouldn't understand!" Daiki didn't even try to hide the darkened spots underneath his armpits.

"Yeah, I know, it's so _manly_ to cuddle under the blanket in a heated room for the whole night, without even changing your clothes!" She looked at them with amusement.

"That's because... We're so tough, we don't need to change our clothes..." Taiga started a weak attempt to save their pride, but the girl just sighed with a smile on her face.

"You wanted to shower anyways, right?" she then winked.

"Yup, sounds like a plan," Daiki grinned and threw his arm around Taiga.

"Yeah, but _not_ together!!" the redhead refused, failing to shove Daiki away.

"The bathtub would be nice too..." he teased the fuming redhead.

"Looks like we have to do _the talk_ soon, Dai-chan," Satsuki giggled, causing the other to blush.

"W-we should eat breakfast now," Taiga cleared his throat, trying to exit the room once again.

"Oh, no, you won't go down like this! Just take your time in the bathroom, I'll cover you up! Consider me as your secret guardian from now on!" the girl encouraged them, though Taiga was still a bit reluctant.

"Nice, Satsuki, I knew we can count on you! See you later then!" Daiki grinned and high-fived her before pulling his boyfriend in a headlock and making his way towards the bathroom. Satsuki showed them her thumbs up, heading down the stairs.

"Daiki, let me go!" Taiga started kicking him, struggling to get away.

"Just wait a bit longer," Daiki smirked, closing the bathroom door behind them. At least he remembered to bring clothes to change in this time...  
He heard how Taiga groaned and finally gave in, letting him assume that the redhead wasn't completely against the idea of bathing together.

"Brush your teeth first!" Taiga growled warningly, looking embarrassed when Daiki took off his shirt.

"Same goes for you!" he remarked before grabbing his toothbrush.

Daiki had to admit it had never been this much fun before to brush his teeth, since of course he couldn't do so without teasing Taiga. Though he received a few hard punches in the side, it had been definitely worth to spit the toothpaste into his face.

"You think it's okay that Satsuki knows?" the redhead asked after a while. Daiki shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not? Well, I'm not sure if she'll keep quiet about it for long, but it somehow feels good to have her back, don't you think?" he answered, looking at Taiga who was absently staring into the mirror in front of them.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. She said she'll cover us up, so it's probably a good thing," he mumbled, his gaze still fixed at his reflection. Daiki cocked one eyebrow, half amused, half irritated, and placed his head on the other's shoulder, staring into the mirror with him.

"Is there something on your face or are you mentally discussing with your reflection?" Daiki asked after a while, his hands snaking around Taiga's waist. All he could see were two tired and hungry dudes that were in love. Though their hair was messy from sleep and Daiki still had toothpaste on his lips, he thought they somehow looked good together. It just would be so much easier if everyone else could see that way too.

"They say I look like him. Is that true?" Taiga had finally turned to him, waiting for an answer. Daiki was confused at first, but then he understood. His eyes were almost begging him to say no, leaving Daiki no other choice.

"No. You don't," he lied, not even knowing what Taiga's father had looked like, but that was the only right thing to say.

"I seriously don't care what you look like, man! Well, your eyebrows sure confuse me from time to time, but just because they're making you look mean and cute at the same time!" he added with a light grin, burying his face in Taiga's neck.

"If you think so..." the other hummed.

"Taiga, you promised me something..."

"I know."  
He then smiled all of a sudden.

"Just stop frowning, Daiki, it makes you look older," he teased him and received a playful jab in the ribs.

"Yeah, yeah, now jump out of your clothes," he smirked and ruffled through his boyfriend's hair before turning around to turn up the taps of the bathtub.

"I'm still not really sure about this! Besides, we already showered yesterday and it's been hella awkward!!" Taiga grumbled.

"But we have to deepen our bond!"

"Yeah, and I also don't need you getting poetic again..."  
The redhead sighed when Daiki patted his cheek in amusement while watching the water.

"Holy shit, dude. That's what I call a magic bathtub..." He quickly stopped the water flow when noticing the tub was already full, staring at it in slight disbelief.

"Uh... alright, and now?" Taiga just looked at him and they found themselves in the same situation as before.

"Well, I started undressing first the last time, so it's your turn now!" Daiki cleared his throat, gazing at the other expectantly.

"Hey, I don't even really want to do this! This was your plan!" Taiga refused.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure you want to see me naked again..." Daiki tried putting on his sexiest smirk.

"Ugh..." the redhead rolled his eyes and reluctantly started undressing.

"Turn around," he huffed and waited until Daiki did so, not knowing that the latter one was still seeing him in the mirror.

"Why the hell aren't we undressing at the same time?" Taiga groaned annoyed inbetween when Daiki whistled as soon as the other had pulled down his trousers.  
And that was it.  
The awkwardness was back at its fullest as soon as Daiki started to get out of his jeans too.  
They stared at the ceiling afterwards, their faces as red as the day before.

"I told you it would be awkward..." Taiga grumbled, attempting to slowly move over to the bathtub without baring himself. No wonder he looked surprised when Daiki grabbed his arm and pulled him towards him for a kiss. The redhead only responded shyly as Daiki had caught him off guard. He didn't dare to close the distance between them completely, knowing that his boyfriend would jump away from him as soon as the lower parts of their naked bodies would touch.

Taiga warily placed his hands on Daiki's upper arms while moving his lips against his. He jolted slightly when Daiki put his arms around the other's waist.

"You're so shy," he chuckled, causing Taiga to glare at him before starting to kiss him more eagerly. Daiki smiled, he just knew how to fire his boyfriend up.

"Daiki, there's a hand on my ass," said one informed him with a deadpanned expression.

"Oh my God, whose is it?" Daiki smirked, squeezing gently. Taiga's face was redder than before and he exaggeratedly cleared his throat.

"The water is getting cold..." he growled, pushing Daiki's arms away.

"Alright, you're going in first!"

"No." He scowled.

"Yes, you are. Gentleman first."

"I thought you're the gentleman?!"

"Fine, we're going in the same time!" Daiki narrowed his eyes and Taiga huffed, both of them slowly sticking their legs inside the water while glaring at each other.

"Damn, that's hot!!" Taiga cursed.

"I told you so," Daiki winked at him.

"I meant the water, dumbass!" he groaned and sat down to hide himself underwater, grimacing when his skin started to sting because of the heat.

"Are you always bathing this warm?" Taiga grumbled while staring at Daiki who was sitting at the other end of the bathtub now, both their legs dangling over the edge.

"Not really... Damn, it's tight in here," the other complained.

"I have a deja Vu!"

"Slughorn's cabinet?" Daiki laughed and poked Taiga's toes with his own.

"Exactly... One of us has to get out!" Taiga crossed his arms in front of his chest, the first drops of sweat running down his shoulders.

"I'd somehow love to since my balls are practically burning, but I definitely won't miss the chance to sit in a bathtub with you," Daiki grinned and splashed water at his boyfriend's face who quickly closed his eyes.

"Well, I'll rather kick you in the balls," Taiga squinted at him and threateningly squeezed his legs inside the bathtub, his knees looking out of the water.

"Oh, no, thank you!" Daiki was ready to protect himself. The redhead sighed, cracking a light smile at him.

"I really would have never thought that I was ever going to be in such a situation." He leaned back, looking at Daiki who was blinking at him.

"Me neither. Seriously, you don't know how many times I've imagined Romilda with me in the bathtub..." he laughed, making small waves with his hands.

"Yeah, the only thing you've fantasized about were her boobs," Taiga rolled his eyes.

"And now look at me having a partner with a flat chest," he snorted.

"But by second thought... You're not that flat at all..." he added with a wink.

"Oh man..." Taiga shook his head amused.

"Yeah, talked enough. Come over here," Daiki smirked at him.

"What do you mean..."

"Come on, you know what I mean. I want you in my arms, that's what couples do in the bathtub!"

"Ugh..." Taiga squinted at him for a very long time.

"One wrong movement and I'll drown you!" he then added warningly before turning around and scooting backwards until his back came in contact with Daiki's chest.

"Yesss!" Daiki grinned, immediately winding his arms around the other's torso, letting him no chance to escape.   
And it was really the best. It felt fucking good being so close to each other, Daiki would've loved to stay like this forever. Taiga's head was on his shoulder, Daiki's front being connected to his warm back while his angled knees were around his boyfriend's legs. And the most exciting part for Daiki was that his dick was occasionally brushing against Taiga's butt every time the other squirmed awkwardly.

"Daiki..."

"Hmm?" he grumbled deeply relaxed, stroking Taiga's body with small movements.

"It's really, _really_ hard to ignore your boner!" he growled, trying to move away, but Daiki clinged onto him.

"Looks like you have to do something against it then..." he smirked, placing a kiss on Taiga's nape.

"No. No, Daiki, we're here to clean ourselves, so you gotta hand me the soap first!" the redhead refused, ramming his elbow lightly into Daiki's stomach.

"Alright, alright, here you go. But you'll have to reward me with a hot make out session, okay?" he grinned, holding the soap out of Taiga's reach.

"Just give it to me, you asshole!" the redhead groaned, pulling Daiki's arm down.

"Dude, that sounded extremely wrong!" Daiki blurted.

"Pervert!" Taiga snarled and started to wash his arms.

"Are you done now?" the other asked after literally twenty seconds.

"Shut up and get your hands off me for a second!"

"Why are you so mean...?" Daiki pouted while Taiga was washing his hair. The redhead then sighed and turned around, so he was facing Daiki.

"Lean down a bit," Taiga hummed, putting shampoo into Daiki's hair as the other did so. He quickly shut his eyes as the shampoo dropped on his forehead, not wanting to get it into his eyes.

"Wow, what a luxury," he chuckled when he felt Taiga's fingers combing through his hair and spreading the shampoo. The next moment Daiki's head got pushed underwater, though. At least his hair got effectively washed like that.

"Woah, alright, I take everything back!" He shook his head, letting water droplets fly around. But Taiga just grinned at him and laid down on Daiki's chest, wrapping his arms around his middle. Daiki blushed before starting to smile and placing his hands on Taiga's back, pulling him nearer. Their bodies were so freaking close now, no space was between them, the water around them splashing as they moved. Daiki bent his head forward, searching the softness of Taiga's lips. The redhead pressed his mouth against Daiki's, his wet tongue licking his bottom lip.

Daiki moaned softly, his hands roaming Taiga's sides, his thumbs sliding down his impressing V line. Daiki felt how he got aroused once again, his blood rushing down into a lower part of his body, causing Taiga to tighten his grip on him surprised when feeling Daiki's erection between his legs.   
He captured the other's lips again with a grin, his tongue making its way into Taiga's hot mouth. His hand reached down underwater, grabbing his boyfriend's dick that seemed to be as hard as his own. The redhead tensed up, shoving his body more into Daiki's as their tongues slid against each other fastly while making wet noises. Taiga soon started grinding onto Daiki, as well as he could with all the water surrounding them. The redhead placed his hands on Daiki's shoulders, holding onto him tightly when Daiki let his fingers curl around Taiga's cock, moving them up and down. His boyfriend groaned in pleasure and started sucking on Daiki's tongue passionately. The other reached down farther, his fingers gently squeezing Taiga's balls while his other hand hold him in place. Daiki moaned when the redhead hesitantly started to stroke his dick. The sensation was different underwater, but Daiki didn't mind as long as they'd continue to jerk each other off.

The water splashed when they moved faster and Taiga began rubbing himself against Daiki's cock, causing the other to moan loudly. Both of them started to pant, his boyfriend having laid down his head on Daiki's shoulder, continuing to grind on him. He moaned when Daiki played with his nipples, pinching and twirling them between his fingers gently while his other hand was pleasuring Taiga's member. Daiki inhaled deeply, tensing up when his dick slipped between his boyfriend's ass cheeks. For a moment he wished he'd be inside him, thrusting deeply into Taiga's hole before pulling out again. With that image in his mind, he reached his climax, wrapping his legs around Taiga who came just a second after him.

"Damn..." the latter one wheezed breathlessly, supporting himself on Daiki who had closed his eyes, too exhausted to move.

"You're amazing, man," he hummed, kissing Taiga's forehead.

"I feel honored, but I think we gotta get out and join the others," Taiga responded, slowly standing up.

"Nooo..." Daiki groaned, holding him back. Just a little longer and he'd be satisfied for the rest of the day, maybe even the week.

"But the water is dirty, you idiot!"

"I don't care..."

"Well, I do!"

"Are you always this moody after shooting your load?" Daiki rolled his eyes.

"Shut up or you'll have to clean the bathroom alone!" the other threatened him when noticing they'd kinda flooded the room.

"Ugh..." Daiki heaved himself up with all the power he had left while Taiga was already getting dressed.

"Hey, those are my clothes!" he complained, almost slipping on the edge of the tub.

"Huh? No, those are mine," Taiga replied confused.

"Yeah, I know, but _I_ want to wear your clothes!!" Daiki went over to him, snagging the shirt away the redhead was currently holding in his hands.

"You know that you're an idiot?" Taiga asked him with a sarcastic smile.

"If that's what is needed for me to wear your stuff, then I am!" Daiki couldn't really tell if his boyfriend was annoyed or amused, but he'd almost say it was the latter one.

They quickly wiped the floor afterwards, being at least that decent to clean up after them before heading down to finally get something to eat.

"Daiki?" Taiga asked after they'd exited the bathroom.

"Hm?" said one yawned.

"I love you..."  
Daiki turned around a bit surprised, only to find Taiga smiling at him widely, causing him to blush.

"Come on, I'm hungry." The redhead took his hand, leading him down the stairs and letting it go again as soon as the others came in sight.

"There you are! We already thought you drowned," Satsuki winked at them when they entered the kitchen with growling stomaches.

"Never knew hygiene is more important for you than food, Aominecchi!" Kise snorted in the background.

"What a coincidence you were done at the same time tough..." Akashi narrowed his eyes, causing Daiki to scowl at him.

"Actually I saw Taiga waiting in front of the door for Daiki to finish up," Satsuki lied with a smile.

"Is that so..."

"Uh... Are you implying that they showered together?" Midorima asked Akashi with a frown.

Heh, nice one, Daiki thought, trying to suppress his grin when Akashi had nothing to answer.

"Kagamicchi! Can you tell us what species you are??" Kise looked like he'd wanted to ask that since yesterday evening.

"Not so loud, you idiot!" Satsuki scolded him, subtly pointing at Mrs Kuroko who was in the living room.

"We're lucky that the rest of the Order of the Phoenix has already left in the evening."

"But I really wanna know! He's looking so human, I can't tell what he is!"

"Just look at him, he's probably half a troll or something," Midorima sneered.

"Hey!" Taiga growled while Daiki was trying not to snort at that, covering his mouth with his hand.

"What if he's a Half-elf?" Kise was probably thinking he'd find out just by looking long enough at Taiga.

"Definitely not. He's too ugly for that," Midorima replied.

"Guys, please stop!" Satsuki groaned, jabbing Kise in the side.

"Ow!" said one complained.

"Whatever, I'm hungry," Daiki hold his stomach in demonstration and started searching for food with Taiga.

"It's nice weather today. How about all of us go for a walk?" Satsuki then suggested, earning a few groans.

In the end all of them got forced, but Daiki had to admit, it wasn't that bad at all to be outside and explore the terrain. Nearby was a small forest where they made a challenge who could climb the highest without falling and breaking their necks. In the end Satsuki had to get them down from the trees with Wingardium Leviosa.

Throughout the walk, Daiki and Taiga were distancing themselves a bit, falling back to secretly hold hands.

"Against my first impression, I have the feeling we're gonna spend a nice time here," Taiga smiled at him squeezing the other's hidden hand.

"I'm glad you think so. But let me say one thing, I totally would have ran away with you too!" Daiki grinned, allowing himself to shortly lay his head on Taiga's shoulder.

"That's why you are the gentleman," the other laughed, but his voice was somehow blurry. Daiki blinked in confusion when his head felt like it weighed tons.

"Daiki?" Taiga sounded worried when he suddenly stumbled, starting to see everything twice. A heavy headache caused him to lose his balance completely and led him falling to the ground.

"Shit, Daiki! Hey, what's wrong??" Taiga had kneeled down next to him, he could hear other voices too, but they were so far away. Daiki's face was laying on the cold forest floor, the world in front of his eyes going black.

Red eyes were staring at him, becoming darker the longer they looked at him, not even blinking once. They weren't warm and alive like Taiga's, those eyes were dead and cruel.  
Voldemort.  
An ugly grin spread on the pale bony face, showing yellow crooked teeth. Voldemort raised his wand and Daiki wanted to scream, but he couldn't.  
His headache worsened, the scar on his forehead felt like it was burning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would have been stupid to call this chapter "the bathtub" after we just had "the shower" xD
> 
> Things are going to get more serious the next two or three chapters. (Or maybe the next ten chapters, damnit. Just joking here...) XD


	24. Kagami

When Daiki opened his eyes, he wanted to close them again immediately. His headache was still present like a hammer pounding against his skull from the inside of his head.   
He couldn't have blacked out for long, he could still smell and hear the forest. And there was something else too. Someone was panting right next to his ear and Daiki slowly realized he was on someone's back, getting carried back to the Burrow at a quick pace.

"Taiga..." he murmured, but his voice was so quiet that no one heard it. His arms were hanging limply over Taiga's shoulders, the other having grabbed him under the legs to prevent him from falling. Although Daiki felt secure that moment, the way itself back to the house was like hell to him. His head flung up and down on Taiga's shoulder as the redhead was running as fast as he could with Daiki as baggage. He tried holding onto him as tight as possible, but he suddenly felt so weak, he couldn't lift a finger.   
The hammer inside his head became even more forcefully, causing him to lose consciousness again. This time he saw nothing but black.

The next time Daiki opened his eyes, he was in Tetsuya's living room with a cold cloth on his forehead. At least he felt much better than before, but still, the vision had came too sudden for him to be prepared and it had been unusually painful.

"Shit, that's been heavy..." he cursed, trying to sit up. It was then, that he noticed all the people surrounding him.

"Daiki!!" A red haired figure bolted towards him and crushed him in a hug.

"Damn, I was so worried. You-... You just collapsed suddenly without any warning. Freaking shit, that was so scary!" Taiga had to inhale deeply after that, still not letting go of Daiki.

"Careful, Taiga. We don't want him to suffocate," Tetsuya said with a blank face, but his eyes were filled with worry. Daiki still remained in the other's arms for a bit longer, catching himself with the thought to just kiss the redhead right now. He shook his head, causing the cloth to fall off.

"But seriously, what happened?! So apparently Daiki has visions from time to time, that's what you told me! A-are they always like that??"   
Daiki had to smile lightly, Taiga sure was at the edge of having a breakdown caused by his concernment.

"No, they're not. This is the first time he lost consciousness! Also, he hadn't had those visions for months!" Satsuki responded, grabbing Taiga's shoulders to calm him down.

"This is really bad. We should contact Dumbledore, this is probably much more worse than it looks like," Midorima commented, inspecting Daiki's face.

"That's right. The slight headache caused by his scar is normal, if it's even painful at all. But what has happened is just another level of demonstration how mighty Voldemort really is," Akashi said with a serious face while Taiga was already at Daiki's side again, replacing the cloth with his hand on his forehead.  
It was unexpectedly cold.

"I... I don't know what happened this time. The visions, I'm always getting them when _he_ feels something special or when he's close to me, but... That headache just killed me," Daiki groaned, squeezing his eyes together.

"But what have you seen, Aominecchi?! Where was he or what was he doing?" Kise asked a bit excited.

"Ugh... I don't really know. It was just him and this time, he was observing me. I don't think he'd ever done that before. It was as if he could look right into my head..." Daiki mumbled, getting quieter and more thoughtful towards the end. Taiga shuddered next to him.

"Do you think it will happen again??" he asked him, being way too worried in Daiki's opinion.

"How should I know..." said one grunted with a frown.

"You should definitely rest Dai-chan! And you're not allowed to go somewhere alone, is that clear?" Satsuki leaned down to face him, looking at him sternly, but also concerned.

"God, just leave me alone," Daiki growled, his headache and the whole situation lowering his mood, along with the fact that he got treated like a kid.

"Daiki, this is serious," Akashi commented.

"I know!" he snapped, turning around to face the other side of the coach.

"Go away, talking is hurting my head right now..."  
He wanted to be alone, only with Taiga at his side. Daiki wanted him to place his hand on his forehead again, smiling at him reassuringly. But with the others around, it was impossible.

"Rest, Daiki. Satsuki and I will discuss our plan further until you're feeling better. If something happens, Tetsuya will stay at your side," Akashi decided.

"Oh, I think Taiga is more than qualificated to watch out for Dai-chan," Satsuki threw in. God, Daiki loved her sometimes.

"No, I'd rather have him somewhere where I can see what he's doing. I know he's your friend, Satsuki, but if I were you, I wouldn't let him alone with Daiki," the short wizard replied, causing Daiki to glare at him along with Taiga.

"Yeah, it's just the hundredth time you've said that already," the redhead growled.

"Akashi, I have to agree this time. You can't treat Taiga like this the whole time. And also, if he rather sleeps in a room with Daiki than with you, that's totally understandable." Satsuki narrowed her eyes at him before continuing.

"I'm just saying we're all the same here, no one is less worthy than the others."  
Akashi clicked his tongue in annoyance, staring at Taiga who was glaring right back, refusing to back off.

"All of you are blind. But trust me, soon you'll see he'll only get us in trouble." With that Akashi turned around, rushing up the stairs, seemingly offended.

"Yeah, right, fuck off..." Daiki grumbled tiredly in a moment of recklessness, having grabbed the hem of Taiga's jeans, just in case.

"Aominecchi!" Kise gasped startled at that. Daiki knew the Barbie couldn't even think of insulting Akashi without getting scared shitless.

"I'm gonna eat something," Murasakibara just yawned, strolling into the kitchen.   
The group dissolved one after another. Midorima went into his room to finish some homeworks for Divination, Satsuki and Akashi were probably planning their excursion to Durmstrang further while Murasakibara was emptying the fridge. Kise had pulled Tetsuya outside to play a gentle round of quidditch with him and Taiga of course stayed with Daiki. The redhead softly smiled down at him, playing with Daiki's hair after he made sure no one was around at the moment.

"You don't have to watch me laying on the couch all day, you know?" Daiki muttered inbetween, feeling too vulnerable in his current situation.

"But I'm worried! This vision-thing seems to be a big deal!" Taiga replied, stopping his hand from moving.

"I know, but... I've gone through much more worse. But still... thank you," the other grumbled lowly. The redhead grinned at him to cheer him up, sitting down on the floor next to the couch.

"As your boyfriend it's my duty to be there for you when you're not feeling well," he smiled, his eyes shining as always when he looked at Daiki.

"How admirable of you. Are you trying to win the _Best Boyfriend Award_ of the year?" he cocked one eyebrow, but quickly stopped it when his head hurt because of it.

"Not just of the year. I just... wouldn't mind staying with you like this forever." Taiga's eyes were so soft that Daiki was wondering how this could be the same person who had tried to break up with him. But by second thought, he would've done it for Daiki's own well-being.

"You should say that more often," Daiki hummed.

"I will."  
He took Taiga's hand to place it on his hurting forehead again, his fingertips grazing the skin of the back of his boyfriend's hand that was slightly rough from the cold weather outside.

"Thanks for carrying me all the way," Daiki said, sighing relieved when his head stopped throbbing for a moment.

"Like I said, it's my job to watch out for you." Taiga placed his head on Daiki's chest, looking at him with his bright red eyes.

"Well, you haven't caught me when I fell," the other remarked with a smirk, causing the redhead to pout.

"You're heavy..."

"Pfff, so that's why you've carried me then?" he snorted.

"Just tell me when you'd rather have Murasakibara carrying you on his back," Taiga teased him.

"Eww, no. I'll opt for my knight in shining armor," Daiki chuckled, pinching the other's nose.

"Right, and you're my heavy princess!"

"Ugh, no, princess doesn't fit at all. I'm all muscles and shit, so I'm the badass prince, you know?"

"Yeah, I got it. The badass prince and his cool knight, a fairy tale written by our prodegy Daiki Aomine!" Taiga's laugh send vibrations through Daiki's whole body, engulfing him in a warm feeling.

"Well, something like that. You forgot that I'm still cooler than you, but I happen to really like your cute little ass, so we fall in love and have sex all day and night long. And that's what the fairy tale is about." Daiki grinned shamelessly when noticing Taiga's red face.

"What a great plot, you perv." He rolled his eyes, blushing even more.

"I know. We can even add some pictures to it," Daiki winked while the other just groaned at that.

"You should seriously get some sleep now!"

"Oh no, I'm not done flirting with you," Daiki refused with a smirk.

"Maybe this helps you then," Taiga hummed amused, lifting his head from Daiki's chest to softly kiss his lips.

"Oh... yeah, that's better," he sighed contently, their lips connecting once more. Daiki closed his eyes. Maybe sleeping wasn't a bad idea now, but he wouldn't just do so without teasing his boyfriend a bit more.

"Can't wait to lick your nipples one day..."

"Sleep!" Taiga growled.

"Or suck your dick, whatever you'd like me to do." Daiki looked at him seductively.

"Well, I'd rather like you to close that pretty mouth of yours and finally fall asleep!" the other groaned, the color on his face back once again.

"Mission accomplished; You flirted back!"

"One more word and I'm making you sleep with a spell!"

"No need to do that, Tiger. I'm already on my way to the land of dreams..." Daiki reluctantly closed his eyes again, faking a yawn.

"Stop shitting me, Aho!" Taiga grumbled and Daiki was once again thinking how cute he could be when he tried to be angry at him.

"Too bad you won't know if I'm just pretending to sleep or not," Daiki smiled with his eyes still closed.

"Oh, I'll know," Taiga replied with a grin, his head back on Daiki's chest.

"How, you idiot?" the other murmured.

"Easy. Your heartbeat, Daiki."  
His heart indeed sped up when the redhead was whispering his name. Taiga felt it too, continuing to smile at him.

"Just don't fall asleep on top of me, the others will be weirded out," Daiki warned him half-heartedly while Taiga was listening to his heartbeat, having closed his eyes too.

"Don't worry, I'm just making sure you fall asleep, then I'll let you alone, you big baby."

"That's my man," Daiki smiled before starting to doze off with a good feeling.

That feeling vanished.  
Daiki could distinguish between a dream and a vision, it wasn't that hard for him. A vision felt real and it was something he always could remember.   
His head was hurting again, but he wasn't sure if this was about Voldemort this time. Daiki didn't know where he was, but he wanted to wake up really badly, being with Taiga again. But it wasn't on him to decide when the vision would end.

He was at a dark place, an alley full of shadows where no light could reach the ground. The fog didn't make it better and Daiki started shivering. It was night and the moon was shining brightly, making it able for him to at least see what was in front of him.

Someone was there. Daiki could make out a dark silhouette through the fog probably five feet away from him.  
Voldemort?  
Daiki started sweating, everything inside him was screaming to run, but he just couldn't. He'd give everything to wake up right now.   
He watched with horror how the figure slowly approached him.

Daiki noticed the person was taller than Voldemort. And in contrary to said one, the figure closing in to him had hair.  
Short red hair.

"Taiga?!" Daiki whispered aghast, his heart beating faster as the person came to a halt.  
But that wasn't Taiga. The man in front of Daiki was about six inches taller than him and was wearing a black robe. Daiki wasn't sure if he could see him because the guy's dark eyes were staring right through him, seeming to wait for something.

He still couldn't avert his gaze from the man's face, though. The high cheekbones, the straight nose, almost every feature of this face was familiar to Daiki. Since the man wasn't moving, he continued to stare at him with his mouth wide opened.

Every part of Daiki's body told him that this could be no one else but Taiga's father. And now that Daiki saw him, he really couldn't deny that they almost looked exactly the same, leaving out the age difference. Still, as well as he knew Taiga, he could spot a few dissimilarities.

He was much more paler than his son and his eyes were narrower, though they had the same intimidating color. His lips were thinner than Taiga's and his cheeks were somehow more hollowed. But the whole appearance of the man just was so unlike Taiga's that Daiki started wondering how it was possible that they were related.

He flinched violently when Kagami suddenly turned around abruptly, staring into the darkness behind him. Daiki furrowed his brows, he couldn't see anything at all, but the man in front of him lowered his stance and pulled out his wand. Not a second later he casted a spell, causing a thin wizard to stumble out of his hideout behind a diversion of the alley. Daiki had to watch how the rather skinny man had no choice but to get dragged towards Kagami by the latter one's wand.

"You sure think you're smart, huh?" His voice was deep and rough, it let Daiki's blood run cold. Kagami grabbed the man's throat, pulling him up with one hand.

"You spies are so easy to catch and even more easy to kill. But no wonder Dumbledore sends pathetic people like you, probably because he knows none of you will ever return."  
The wizard started to whimper in pain, grasping at Kagami's arm in an attempt to free himself, of course without success. Daiki knew the poor man never had had a chance from the beginning, alone the height difference between him and Kagami was immense. The wizard was still struggling while his windpipe got crushed, writhing in Kagami's grip like a caught insect. Daiki didn't even need to get closer to see the Dark Mark on the inside of the taller one's wrist. Taiga's father was a death eater, one of the worst kind to be precise.

He suddenly loosened his grip around the wizard's neck, letting him drop onto the dirty ground with an ugly sound. The smaller one howled in pain and wheezed for air, coughing heavily while Kagami just stared at him. The spy slowly started crawling away from him, even leaving his wand behind that was laying just a few inches behind Kagami. Said one watched how the other continued to cringe away from him.

"After losing so many people you still don't want to understand that nothing can stop the Dark Lord..." The death eater smiled, starting to walk after the wizard whose eyes were wide open in shock, trying to get away with all his might.

"Seriously, all of your kind die like flies, but go on like this if you want to, at least I can have the pleasure to kill you." He picked the man up again, hauling him backwards against the wall with one powerful movement of his arm, causing the wizard to scream as his back crashed into the cold stone.

"What a shame you humans are so weak, you're no challenge at all. You disgust me because you're making it look like the only sense of your specie's existence is getting killed. But there are too many of you anyways," Kagami growled, bending down to be face to face with the half conscious wizard who had slumped down the wall. His eyes were on the verge of rolling back into his head while he had problems to breathe.

Daiki could just stare at Kagami, having not blinked for at least a minute. Now did he not only know that it was Taiga's father being the non-human parent, but also _what exactly_ he was. That's if he'd be able to think properly at the moment which wasn't possible due to what was currently happening right in front of his eyes.  
 _What is he??_

"Oh, you're looking like someone who wasn't really important, someone whose name was always being forgotten. I guess no one will remember you," Kagami laughed coldly, directing his wand at the other's face. The man's eyes widened once more when the tip began glowing in a faint red while Daiki could do nothing but to watch how the wizard's nose turned grey, seeming to transform into ash, causing his nose to just fall off his face. He started screaming in agony again while the death eater enjoyed the situation, his laughter being a stark contrast to the other's pained cries.

Daiki felt sick at the sight of the wizard's whole face turning grey first before the ash started crumbling, making his bones visible. Soon there was nothing left of him, his screams having fell silent after he'd lost his face. Kagami straightened up again, kicking the remaining ash degradingly, his mouth contorting into a sneer. It made Daiki wanting to throw up. His eyes were glued to the ash that had been living flesh not a few moments ago as his head started to spin. The last thing he saw was Taiga's father grinning menacingly in his direction before he finally woke up.

Daiki's eyes snapped open, his heart jumping in his chest. When he looked down, he couldn't help but jerk backwards when seeing Taiga's face. Of course he hated himself for it not a second later. But still, Daiki was too disturbed to think clearly. He closed his eyes again, trying to calm himself down by concentrating on his breathing.  
He was back, the vision was over. He was back on the couch with his boyfriend sitting next to him, said one's head laying on Daiki's chest while sleeping peacefully.

But what had just happened? Why had Daiki seen Taiga's father? Wasn't he dead?   
Daiki shuddered when remembering his vision. Voldemort hadn't even been there, so why?  
He looked at Taiga again, how could he look that similar and dissimilar to his father at the same time?

Daiki sat up, too confused to recognize the meaning behind all of this. Taiga's head slid from his chest at the movement, but he managed to hold him in place by hugging his body. The redhead grumbled in his sleep when Daiki pressed his face into his hair, inhaling deeply. His heartbeat slowed down, Taiga nuzzling into Daiki's chest again. The latter one managed to smile weakly, his arms tightening around the other's torso. Something told him there was a lot more about Taiga than he suspected, and a lot more that could break them apart.

"Dai-chan!" He raised his head when Satsuki whispered his name, standing in the entrance way. She smiled as she made her way towards the two.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked him, her eyes flicking down to Taiga who was still asleep in Daiki's arms.

"I'm fine... I guess," he hummed, lifting his hand to gently stroke his boyfriend's hair. Satsuki's gaze softened.

"I'm so glad we met him at Hogwarts, don't you think? Even though it had been difficult with you two during your fight. But in the end, your love for him was stronger. And now you have someone who you can take care of and someone who takes care of you."

"That sounds sappy..." Daiki chuckled lowly.

"Oh, Dai-chan, I know deep inside you is a lot space for romance in your heart."

"Shut up," he pouted, looking at Taiga again when said one suddenly sneezed in his sleep.

"I'll make you tea then," she winked before walking into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Daiki muttered, causing the girl to laugh.

"You are so much more polite since you've got Taiga as your boyfriend."  
Daiki just groaned at that.

"But you should wake him up, the others are coming soon, and I don't know if you want them to see Taiga as your blanket," she giggled.

"Whatever..." Daiki rolled his eyes, flicking his fingers at Taiga's forehead.

"Wake up, idiot!" He started pinching his cheeks when the other only grumbled, still not completely awake. Taiga finally opened his eyes with a low growl, looking up into Daiki's after blinking a few times. In contrary to his father's eyes, Taiga's were bright and full of kindness.

"Slept well, sweetheart?" Daiki mocked him, causing the other to furrow his brows.

"Shut up. It's not my fault your chest is such a high quality pillow!" he sulked, probably remembering his promise to wait until Daiki would fall asleep.

"Alright, alright," he laughed, his mood improving immediately, the last rest of the unwell feeling he'd gotten from the vision disappearing. Daiki grinned, ruffling Taiga's hair before bending down to shortly kiss his forehead.

"Satsuki's making tea and she said the others will come to bother us too," he sighed.

"Oh, well, hopefully there's gotta be cake too," Taiga yawned.

"You're such a glutton!" Daiki snorted.

Surprisingly there really was a cake, seeming to be made by Murasakibara and Satsuki who'd baked it in the kitchen. It tasted great, so it had been probably all Murasakibara's work. Satsuki's tea was unexpectedly alright, at least everyone had feared for their lives when they'd sat down at the table and Satsuki had stated she'd used her own recipe for the tea.

Kise was talking the most while Taiga continuously yawned, seemingly missing Daiki as his pillow. Of course it was Akashi who turned the conversation into a serious one by asking Daiki if he'd had another vision.  
He said no, not wanting to tell everyone what he'd seen. Akashi would know if he'd make something up and since he already had a bad opinion about Taiga, he didn't want to give him a reason to mistreat the redhead even more.

The rest of the day went by rather calmly. No one said anything when Daiki and Taiga went into the same room to go to sleep, not even Akashi who was silently glaring at them.

Only when they finally laid together in one bed, embraced in each other's arms, Daiki dared to talk about what he'd seen.

"Taiga?" he whispered, not knowing if the other was already asleep.

"Yeah?" the redhead responded after Daiki had listened to his calm breathing.

"Are you sure that... your parents are dead...?" Taiga tensed up behind him, his grip around Daiki slightly tightening.

"I saw their corpses," he responded bitterly and Daiki felt bad for having asked this.

"Why...?" Taiga murmured after a moment of silence.

"I... saw your father..." Daiki admitted, placing his hands on Taiga's that were closed around his waist.

"What..." His breath was shakily as he exhaled with a gasp.

"I lied. I've had a vision earlier when I was asleep. I just didn't want anyone else to know."  
Taiga said nothing for a while and Daiki didn't know if he should continue or not.

"And you've... seen him..." The redhead's voice sounded somehow yearning.

"Yeah." The following silence was oppressive, Taiga wasn't responding again.

"I... Since I saw him, I thought there's a chance he might be alive." Daiki squinted his eyes together, hoping he'd said the right thing. Taiga's arms cramped around him.

"That would be... horrible," the redhead gritted his teeth.  
Horrible.  
That word fit more than Daiki had thought. The man in his vision had been nothing more than an insane mass murderer, and although he was Taiga's father, Daiki wouldn't have been that eager to meet him in person.

"Do you... miss him? Or your mother?" Daiki mumbled almost unintelligibly.

"No." The redhead's voice was even colder than before, but Daiki knew that was a lie. Even he missed his parents, though he'd never really known them. And Taiga had only lost his two years ago, it was impossible for him to not want them back, even if he refused to admit that.

"Don't blame yourself for wanting a family. It would be abnormal if you really don't miss them."  
Taiga exhaled behind him angrily, warning Daiki to not push further.

"What they did was abnormal."

"I know, but-..."

"What do you know?!" Taiga suddenly snapped, family being a sensitive topic for him.

"I just told you I saw your father," Daiki responded warily.

"What exactly did you see." It didn't sound like a question at all. Daiki inhaled carefully. Should he lie? But then Taiga would get even angrier at him. He began stroking the redhead's uptight hands with his fingers as if he tried to tame him.

"He... was in an alley. It was night and I don't know what he was doing there, but he wasn't alone." Daiki stopped to see if the other still wanted him to continue.

"He then caught a spy, apparently sent by Dumbledore and-..."

"He killed him," Taiga ended his sentence, his voice sounding forced.

"Yeah."

"But that's not everything, right?"

"Well, he... took his time," Daiki managed to press out.

"So he tortured him before killing him in Voldemort's name."  
The whole conversation got more awkward with every sentence.

"You can say that."  
Taiga made an attempt to let go of Daiki, but the latter one clinged to him, pulling himself back against the other's chest.

"I'm sorry, Taiga. This is shit." He turned around in his arms to have a look at him.

"I just hate to find out who my parents really were by someone else. I guess I've never really known them my entire life. The people of whom I thought they were, were never even existing," Taiga hissed. It was too dark for Daiki to see his facial expression right now. Instead he hugged him, placing one hand on the back of his head, gently pushing his face into his neck.

"I just wanted to have a normal family..." Taiga's voice broke off as he let Daiki embrace him.

"I am your family now," Daiki hummed, kissing his boyfriend's head.

"Thank you, Daiki..."

"I may not be normal too, but I'll always be there for you, no matter what."  
Both of them were quiet after that, Daiki was continuing to rub Taiga's back, humming calmingly every time the redhead squirmed to get even closer to him.

"I can't sleep," Taiga grumbled softly after another ten minutes.

"Well, no wonder since you slept the whole afternoon," Daiki chuckled.

"But to be honest, I somehow am not able to sleep either," he then admitted.

"Maybe we should distract ourselves, I just want to get my head free," Taiga suggested with a low rumble.

"Oh, I know something!"

"Nothing that includes your dick, asshat!" the redhead growled, jabbing his knee into Daiki's thigh.

"Ow! I wanted to suggest something else!" he pouted offended, getting back at Taiga with a light slap on said one's head.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup. We sneak outside and I'm gonna teach you the Patronus Charm."

"Seriously?!" Taiga sat up, staring at Daiki in disbelief.

"Why not? You wanted to learn it anyways. Just admit that my spontaneous ideas are always the best," Daiki grinned at him, hoping to let the bitterness of their former conversation vanish.

"Like the one with the love potion?" Taiga groaned.

"Like the one with the love potion! Come on, we're stupid teenagers, let's have some fun!" Daiki was already out of bed, when quickly adding:

"For once I mean the fun that doesn't include my dick," he winked. Taiga shook his head, glaring at him slightly.

"You are an idiot." He stood up nevertheless, putting on Daiki's sweater that got thrown into his arms.

"We're idiots in love," Daiki smirked while getting dressed with clothes that weren't belonging to him.

"Idiots that get caught in the middle of the night while trying to sneak out of a house where every floorboard creaks like hell..."

"Oh, don't worry, we're exiting through the window!"

"The window?!"

"Yeah, like we did in the library when Filch almost caught us!" Daiki opened the window excitedly while Taiga was staring at him as if he was seriously dumb.

"To your information, we almost _died_ back then if I hadn't saved us. And heck, we're on the third or fourth floor!" the redhead replied when Daiki threw his arm around his shoulder.

"Then you'll just save us again! And if you fail and we both break our necks while holding hands, we'll set a message into the world that the great Daiki Aomine was gay and unintentionally committed suicide with his eternal love!"

"Dude, what the fuck..." Taiga frowned, grabbing Daiki's shoulders.

"If you've got any problems, please tell me because I'm not that eager to break my neck or see you with a broken neck!"

"This... originally was meant to be a joke..." Daiki cleared his throat.

"You're bad at joking," Taiga grumbled when watching how Daiki climbed out of the window.

"Come on now, I'm not gonna jump alone!" he grinned and the redhead rolled his eyes, joining Daiki.

"This is so idiotic!" he stated.

"Well, we're idiots..."

"Fine, let's do it."

"Don't scream when you're falling or the others will hear us," Daiki teased him, pecking his cheek as he felt the cold night wind blowing into their faces.

"Same goes to you," Taiga sighed, smiling at Daiki before both of them jumped.


	25. The silver Tiger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter with a very peaceful beginning and a very dark ending.

"Arresto Momentum!!"  
Although Daiki knew that Taiga would cast the spell at the right moment, his heart was beating in his chest wildly, his veins pumped with adrenaline. It wasn't like he jumped out of a window every day...

Right now they were both hovering a few inches over the ground until the spell lost its effect and they kissed the earth face first.

"Ugh, the last few inches are such a pain in the ass," Taiga growled when he stood up, brushing the dirt off his sweater.

"Oh well, you know I'm gonna be a pain in your-..." Daiki got silenced by his boyfriend's glare.  
A cold breeze made them shiver.

"I still have the opinion this was a really bad idea..." Taiga deadpanned, rubbing his arms.

"Oh, come on! This is kind of an adventure!" Daiki tried motivating him while using Lumos to enlighten the area around them a bit.

"Actually, I miss our warm bed right now," the redhead sighed, looking at their window yearningly.

"Man, didn't know you're such a whimp," Daiki mocked him, starting to walk further into the garden, his destination seeming to be a secure spot between the trees.

"Hey! Say that again!" Taiga shouted.

"Shhh." Daiki smiled, his boyfriend was too easy to enrage.

"We could've at least pulled on a jacket or something..." said one mumbled while hugging his chest.

"Aww, you're cold?" Daiki teased him, nestling himself against the other's body.

"You know I don't like the cold," Taiga pouted and closed his arms around Daiki in a death grip.

"Woah, I can't breathe..." Daiki wheezed when the air got pressed out of him as Taiga tried to warm up himself.

"It's not my fault you're so freaking warm." The redhead hummed and shoved his hands under Daiki's shirt, searching the contact of his skin.

"Hey!!" Daiki squawked as the cold fingers grazed his back, making him flinch.

"You idiot! That was enough cuddling for now!" He pushed the other's hands away.

"Normally you're the cuddly one!" the redhead sulked, winding his arms around Daiki again.

" _Normally_ you're the one with the higher body temperature. What the fuck..." Daiki frowned in confusion when pushing his hands under Taiga's shirt, just too feel that his entire body was as cold as his hands.

"You're not sick, are you?" Daiki asked him a bit concerned.

"No, I'm fine. Didn't you want to teach me the Patronus Charm?" the redhead  switched the topic. Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Uh...right," he said and cleared his throat.

"But I have to warn you, it's not as easy as it looks like."

"Alright, I'll get this!" Taiga grinned, drawing his wand.

"Okay, so... How do I explain this..." Daiki grumbled.

"You're not exactly the best teacher, professor Aomine," Taiga teased him.

"Oh, shut up, your handsome face distracts me! Whatever, so when you cast the spell, you gotta say _Expecto_ _Patronum_ _,_ alright?" Daiki hoped he came over as serious as he intended to be.

"Okay, go on," Taiga smirked.

"Yeah, so, as you know the spell's only use is it to chase off Dementors, so it won't help you in any other cases. For the charm to succeed you have to think of your happiest memory before saying the words."

"Why's that?" the redhead asked him.

"How should I know, I didn't invent the fucking spell! It's probably because Dementors are sucking every good feeling out of you, so if you think of the best moment in your life, you... Ugh, you know what I mean?" Daiki groaned, kicking the frozen earth.

"Kinda... Now that you say it, it's genius!" Taiga nodded impressed, causing the other to grin.

"Good for you I'm so smart..." he winked at him, nudging him with his elbow.

"Then show me how the spell works, smartass," Taiga grinned back.

"Nothing easier than that!" Daiki bragged, pointing with his wand at the darkness in front of him. He then closed his eyes, thinking of his first year in Hogwarts where they had won the Quidditch Cup.

"Expecto Patronum!"

"Uh... Daiki?"

"Yeah?" Said one opened his eyes, just to see... nothing. He blinked bewildered, why wasn't his Patronus showing up?

"Are you sure you don't need a little practice yourself?" Taiga asked him with a frown.

"No! This spell is my specialty!" Daiki replied slightly offended, trying to summon his Patronus again.

"Maybe it's not working when no Dementors are around?"

"Would you shut up, please?!"  
Why the heck wasn't it working? Daiki had always been proud of his flawless Patronus Charm and the Quidditch Cup was his happiest memory, right?  
Right...?

No, he thought. No, of course not, there was something that made his heart beat even faster, something that made him inwardly smile. Daiki glanced at Taiga who was looking at him slightly worried, seeming like he didn't know what to say.

"Expecto Patronum!" After inhaling deeply, Daiki opened his eyes, seeing with joy how the silver fog arose from his wand.

"Wow," Taiga mumbled in awe, watching how the fog transformed into a panther that was enlightening the night with its glowing body. With no Dementors close to them, the animal walked around them in a circle before laying down on the ground.

"Amazing..." The redhead slowly approached it as if it was an actual panther that could attack him or run away any moment. Daiki watched with a light smile how his boyfriend bent down, trying to pet the animal, but his hand just slid through air, not able to touch the transparent body.

"Why a panther?" Taiga turned around to look at him.

"Uh, I don't know... I guess it has something to do with your personality and stuff," he shrugged, causing the other to laugh.

"Well, a panther is lazy at times, right?"

"But it's also fast and elegant, just like me!" Daiki replied, bumping their shoulders as Taiga returned to him.

"Right," he chuckled.

"How long will it stay?"

"Until the spell loses its effect, that can be ten minutes or half an hour, one can't be sure. It's probably about the strength of the memory you thought of," Daiki tried to explain.

"And of what have you thought?" Taiga asked him with a grin, nuzzling his nose into Daiki's hair.

"N-nothing..." The latter one blushed.

"Uuhh... Bad answer!" the redhead cackled, poking his sides.

"You can't be embarrassed of your happiest memory, can you? What is it?" he remained stubborn.

"I'm only telling you when you manage to summon your Patronus too!" Daiki cleared his throat, trying to prevent his face from becoming even redder.

"Challenge accepted!" Taiga grinned.

"I bet my precious Firebolt that it's gonna be a tiger."

"Well, I have the feeling it will rather be an owl," the redhead snorted sarcastically.

"It's pretty obvious it's gonna be a tiger. Hey, wait... but don't start wondering if you'll summon a slug," Daiki teased him, causing the other to growl at him.

"Let me get the spell right first..."  
Taiga closed his eyes.

"Just to remind you, this is an advanced charm that requires a lot of practice," Daiki grinned almost excitedly. He had to admit he was curious himself if Taiga would really manage to summon his Patronus. Of course he had no doubts it was gonna be a tiger, but he would love to see it.

"Expecto Patronum!" Although the redhead seemed as concentrated as possible, nothing was happening. But that was no surprise since it was his first try. Taiga squinted his eyes together again, swinging his wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" But there still was nothing.

"Expecto Patronum!"  
He tried it again and again without making a difference. Daiki felt how his boyfriend slowly got frustrated and just shouted the words while harshly ripping his wand through the air.

"Alright, stop it!" Daiki interfered, pushing Taiga's arm down.

"I hate this..." he muttered with a glare at his wand.

"Are you really thinking of your happiest moment?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's when I became friends with you and got to know Hogwarts," Taiga answered with a pout.

"Don't you think there's something stronger?" Daiki asked him while watching how his own Patronus sat up.

"Our quidditch match!" The spark was back in his eyes, but Daiki had the feeling it still wouldn't work. But he'll let Taiga try until he'd find the very same memory Daiki had used to summon his panther.

"Expecto Patronum!" The tip of his wand began glowing. It was weak, but at least it was something. Taiga smiled widely when seeing his progress before closing his eyes again.

"Expecto Patronum!" The wand glowed again, stronger this time. Daiki watched how his boyfriend continued, but he didn't got further than that. He soon lost his motivation again, starting to groan after another five minutes.

"This is seriously annoying!" he huffed irritated when his wand did nothing at all after another try.

"Taiga?"

"Yeah?"  
Daiki grinned as he grabbed Taiga by the collar to pull him closer, kissing him on the lips that were a bit dry from the cold. The redhead's brows shot up, but he didn't retreat as Daiki increased the pressure of his lips against Taiga's.

"Try again," he muttered, nudging his nose against Taiga's ear after they parted.

"If it's really gonna work right now, it would be the sappiest thing ever..." Taiga grumbled in embarrassment, facing another direction.

"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted with a red face and Daiki really couldn't refrain from laughing when he watched how the redhead's eyes went wide as the spell's silver fog arose from his wand. Slowly, as if a bit insecure, said fog transformed into the figure of a tiger.

"Holy shit..." Taiga murmured with his mouth wide open as the animal shook itself before staring at him with bright shining eyes.

"You did it!" Daiki grinned, jumping on his boyfriend's back in euphoria.

"Woah, careful!" The redhead lost his balance because he'd been still focusing on his Patronus, causing both of them to land on their butts.

"Ugh," Daiki groaned at the impact, but couldn't really concentrate on the pain when seeing how his panther stood up, its body glowing slightly brighter than the tiger's. Daiki smirked, the Patronus Charm just was his thing.

"What is happening right now...?" Taiga hummed, staring at the two animals wonderingly. He and Daiki stayed on the ground, too amazed to stand up again.

"I've never seen this before either," Daiki admitted and placed his hand on Taiga's when watching how their Patronuses slowly circled themselves, staring at each other intently.

"Is it even possible for creatures consisting of magic to interact like that?" Taiga asked and Daiki shook his head.

"I have no idea..."

"But they are... somehow much more majestic than real animals," he added. The tiger had laid down and after what seemed like a moment of hesitation, Daiki's panther did so too, snuggling into the silver fur of the bigger cat.

"Although both their bodies are transparent, they still can touch each other...?" Taiga sounded rather impressed than confused and to Daiki, it didn't matter at all if what was happening in front of their eyes was something that had never happened before. The only thing important was that this was a special moment for him and Taiga, something they should remember later on, something that would help them to stay together in bad times.

"Why do you think they are like this?" Taiga shortly averted his gaze to look into Daiki's eyes.

"I guess because they're mirroring us in a way as if they're a part of us, you know? It's probably a thing only Satsuki would say, but... I think it's... love...? God, that's so freaking cheesy!" Daiki blushed violently, failing to hide his embarrassment when Taiga smiled at him. Their whole situation was romance pure, not that Daiki had something against it, but he just wasn't really used to this...

"I'm agreeing though. You know, after you told me to try again," the redhead paused, seeming to be embarrassed himself.

"I... I suddenly thought of our first kiss and... It kinda worked as you can see..."

"No shit, I thought of that too..."  
Awkwardness, embarrassment, a quick heartbeat and sweaty hands; that's what a romantic moment felt like for the great Daiki Aomine.

"Ugh, that's so sappy, I think I'm gonna puke..." he groaned, feeling way too ridiculous. Hadn't he always been the one who made fun of Satsuki's romantic scenarios? And now look at him...

"Don't destroy it now, our first kiss really _is_ my happiest memory," Taiga pouted, his blush still present.

"Alright, I have to admit it kinda was an important point of our unruly relationship," Daiki chuckled, taking Taiga's hand and placing it in his lap, playing with his fingers.

"How did that happen anyway? Did we really just kiss from one moment to another?" he added and furrowed his brows, looking at the two big cats that still were in a very cuddly mood. And Daiki didn't know if it was the spell or not, but he somehow had the urge to get more affectionate with Taiga too.

"No, you idiot," the redhead laughed softly.

"If I remember right, you were completely lovestruck back then and just asked me if it would be okay to kiss."

"And you said yes."

"Otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here right now." Taiga beamed at him and Daiki let go of his hand, just to roll over into his lap, letting his boyfriend hug him from behind.

"But who says I'm not lovestruck anymore?" he grinned as he turned his head around to kiss Taiga's chin.

"No one, I guess," the other laughed, laying his head on Daiki's shoulder while watching their Patronuses.

"Just look how embarrassing we are," Daiki sighed, though his smile didn't waver as he leant back into Taiga's chest.

"Are we?" the redhead hummed amused while taking Daiki's hands in his own.

"Ugh, just look at us, my former self would be crying now when seeing what a sap I am..."

"Pff, you're hilarious."

"Well, good luck with a hilarious boyfriend then," Daiki grumbled with a red face.

"Satsuki would squeal out of cuteness now," Taiga teased him.

"God, please spare us..." he uttered sarcastically, looking at their Patronuses again, the tiger having raised its head, staring back attentively. The panther opened its mouth widely to yawn, revealing a row of fangs.

"Hey, your guy is watching me," Daiki chuckled, enjoying how Taiga tightened his arms around him when laughing quietly.

"Pretty cool, right? Yours too, but not as cool as mine," the redhead grinned.

"Oh, you really wanna start that discussion now? Alright!" Daiki narrowed his eyes playfully.

"You've lost already, tigers are literally the strongest animals on the planet! In a fight it would wipe the floor with your cute panther over there!" Taiga bragged and Daiki cocked one eyebrow by seeing said tiger starting to lick the panther's silver fur lovingly.

"Sure thing, but before that could even happen, a panther would run out your fat tiger, there's no way it can catch up in speed!" Daiki fired back.

"Hey, a tiger isn't fat, it's all muscles, that's why they're so heavy!"

"Yeah, just like you," he smirked and knew that Taiga was blushing behind him.

"As if you're any different," the redhead countered.

"Oh, no, no, no, I don't have those insane shoulders or your sexy as hell pecs!" he replied, shoving back into Taiga to show what he meant.

"I hope this has nothing to do with your nipple obsession..." the redhead said flatly, breathing onto Daiki's nape.

"Well, that's just the beginning. My luck yours have such an alluring color and size. Have I ever told you I almost get a boner every time I can see your erected nipples through your shirt?" Daiki teased him with a smirk.

"Could you please stop talking this way? Our conversation was about tigers and panthers until now!!" Taiga groaned embarrassed.

"And I'm never going to wear your stuff again if it's not my size!" he quickly added.

"Nooo, seeing you in tight shirts is my wet dream!"

"Urgh, you!! Don't you have any shame?"

"Not really. And may I add, I also admire your perfect ass! I have to say I'd enjoy to be inside it the next time," he continued to tease his boyfriend. It just was too much fun to rile him up.

"You're totally one of those who only think with their dick!" he grumbled, squeezing Daiki's middle a bit too hard.

"Logical, my cock is way bigger than my brain after all."

"You should probably know I'm in a very good position to strangle you right now!" Taiga warned him.

"Damn, are you even aware you're turning me on with that?" He just couldn't stop it and Daiki still had a lot more dirty remarks in his mind when he felt the other actually starting to press the air out if him.

"Okay, okay," he coughed, having no chance against Taiga's hellish biceps. Of course Daiki would definitely win if he was in a better position... That's what he told himself at least.

"Hey, I'm your one and only! What would you do without your big love?" Daiki tried when Taiga still hold him in a literal death grip. He sighed relieved when the pressure decreased.

"Be happy I love you that much," the redhead grinned. His Patronus roared softly as the panther moved its lean body to get comfortable again, their silhouettes glowing as brightly as before.

"Glad to hear that." Daiki who had already recovered smiled at him, turning around in Taiga's lap to face him directly.

"Don't worry, although you're perverted as hell, I think you're still awesome!" Taiga leaned closer, letting their foreheads touch when Daiki wrapped his legs around the small of the redhead's back.

"I know," he smirked, bending down to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. His body was still not as warm as usual, but at least it wasn't that cold anymore. Daiki opened his mouth in a haze, his tongue sweeping Taiga's bottom lip. His boyfriend kissed back eagerly, holding him against his chest. Soon their tongues slid into each others' mouths, deepening the kiss with passion.   
Daiki always knew from the very beginning that he'd never grow tired of kissing Taiga. It was something exciting and enjoyable every single time.

"Daiki, stop," the redhead giggled when the other pushed him to the ground, now being on top of him.

"You said you're freezing, so I'll just warm you up a little," Daiki smiled before kissing him once again. Taiga laughed happily, winding his arms around Daiki again as he caught the other's lips with his own. Daiki hummed deeply and moved down, kissing his way to Taiga's jawline and farther down to his neck. The redhead let out a pleased sigh when Daiki nibbled on the soft skin of his neck before he licked it gently.

"Daiki... I've got nothing to cover up a hickey, you should stop..." Taiga was probably trying to sound threatening which wasn't exactly working since he practically moaned those words. And of course Daiki didn't stop, instead his lips started sucking as if he tried to to taste his boyfriend, his tempting smell was driving him crazy as always.

"You idiot..." Taiga panted into his ear and turned his head aside to give Daiki more space. Said one smirked, moving his lips to the right to mark him at another spot. At least the redhead couldn't hide it anymore that he enjoyed it. He heard Taiga moaning again when Daiki mouthed his collarbone, continuing to leave hickeys on his boyfriend's neck.

"Oh, hey, what's that? You're hard!" he snorted when parting from him, teasingly grinding on Taiga's erection.

"Ugh, that's your fault! It's not like I can do anything against it!" the redhead groaned.

"Still, you're popping a boner quite often recently..."

"Maybe because I have a perverted boyfriend who tries getting into my pants every fucking minute?"

"Probably," Daiki smirked, cupping the bulge in his trousers with his hand.

"Oh, no, no, no! We can't!" Taiga refused, rolling away from him.

"What? Why?" the latter one pouted, pinning the redhead to the ground again.

"It's cold, we're supposed to sleep and it's really uncomfortable on the ground! And if we hadn't summoned our Patronuses it would be pitch-dark!" he huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest protestingly.

"Fiiine," Daiki growled, agreeing that those probably weren't the best conditions for something intimate.

"But I really wanna touch you, you know? It's crazy, but I honestly can't take my hands off of you. And I'm serious when I say there definitely will be a point where I get hard in front of all the others when I'm only even thinking about you!"

"You're quite a handful," Taiga chuckled nonetheless, probably because Daiki looked cute when sulking.

"Yeah, you'll have to watch out for me for the rest of your life! And that also includes the nights!"

"Don't worry, when we finish Hogwarts we can also sleep in the same bed without anyone disturbing us," Taiga hummed.

"But that's almost two years!! What am I going to do until then?" he shouted nearly desperated.

"Aww, calm down, man. I can still cuddle you in the mean time."  
Daiki sighed, his boyfriend was too pure. He wasn't even sure if Taiga would agree to do more than jerking each other off one day. They still were at a stage were none of them could touch the other naked without water surrounding them. Daiki hadn't known he'd be that shy himself when it came to that point and the problem was that Taiga was even more insecure than him.

The redhead sat up, staring at their Patronuses again. Although Daiki would have loved to make out a bit more, he joined Taiga, proudly inspecting the hickeys he'd given him.

"You know I have nothing to hide them, you dumbass?" Taiga cocked one eyebrow when noticing Daiki looking at him.

"Well, out of _coincidence,_ I have a turtleneck sweater I can give you the next morning. But it's a bit tight even for me, so..."

"You're not even trying to let it sound like you didn't do that on purpose," Taiga growled, jabbing his elbow into his side lightly.

"Why should I?"

"You're unbelievable..."

"That's why you love me," Daiki smirked.

"Sure, idiot. But you're also-... Hey, wait, what's up with your Patronus?" Taiga got distracted by the silver panther that was still laying next to the tiger, but its light started to dim. Not even that, it began flickering as if the spell was fighting to stay.

"Daiki?" the redhead asked when the other didn't answer.

"Shit..."   
Daiki absently touched the scar on his forehead, the world blurring in front of his eyes.

"Daiki??"  
He still felt how Taiga hold onto him tightly, shouting his name concerned when Daiki fell back onto the grass.

"Shit...!" he repeated. Why now?   
The last thing he saw was how one of the two lights of their Patronuses dissolved, leaving the other alone.

"Daiki, come on, talk to me! Is it another vision?!" Taiga's scared voice still ringed in his ears as Daiki already was at another place.

* * *

It was dark once again. Dark and cold.  But he wasn't in an ally like last time, right now he seemed to be inside a barely lit building. The fog on the ground was so unnatural, it could only come from Dementors.   
Daiki couldn't move on his own, he automatically walked down the long grey aisle. That was when he noticed that it wasn't his own body. He saw through someone else's eyes.  
Voldemort's eyes.

Next to him on both sides were cells instead of walls. Cells with massive iron bars that were impossible to destroy. If he could, Daiki would have flinched when suddenly seeing a Dementor hovering at one end of the aisle. And all of a sudden he knew where he was.  
Azkaban.  
There was no other place that would look like this.

Voldemort still didn't seem like he reached his destination as he continued to walk through the aisle, passing cell by cell. Daiki could do nothing else but to watch, to observe everything through the eyes of his worst enemy.

The prisoners seemed to recognize him, they started whispering when he passed them, clutching the metal bars with their hands. Daiki felt sick by seeing all those pale, slender wizards and witches who were staring at Voldemort, wearing insane expressions on their hollow faces.

"My lord..." some of them whispered maniacally, others were laughing and trying to reach for him through the bars, showing their yellow and black teeth. But Voldemort ignored the prisoners, stopping at the end of the aisle. Daiki noted that he was searching for something, or rather someone, and he definitely had a very bad feeling about it.

With one movement of his wand, the door in front of Voldemort opened, revealing kind of a control room where the stairs led into two directions. He suddenly turned his head when two prison gards entered through the door at the other end of the room. They were as pale as the prisoners, with dark bags under their eyes and a rather thin statue.

"We give him one per day, this kid is a fucking monster!" one of them sighed, not seeming to notice Voldemort in the corner of the room.

"I'm wondering myself why the ministry hasn't eliminated him yet. He has no use for anyone, has he? I know he's a child, but still..."

"Actually the ministry voted, and some of the higher guys want to keep him alive, including Dumbledore!"

"Seriously?! I thought he'd be smarter than that."  
No. Please not. Daiki didn't want to see all of this, he didn't want to know this. It should stop, everything should stop right now!  
But of course it went on and Voldemort was listening to the guards a bit longer as they faced him with their backs.

"Does the ministry want to use him as a weapon?! I mean, it could work, but is that really worth the effort?"

"What effort? There are a lot of assholes just living to get killed, so that won't be the problem. And since he's still a kid, he's naïve and probably easy to influence. It wouldn't be hard for the ministry to make him fight for us by telling him he can live a normal life or some shit."

"I'm pretty sure if Dumbledore gets his plan working, he'll set up some friends for him that make him feel comfortable."

"Yeah, provided that he doesn't immediately kill them... Just imagine him befriending Daiki Aomine!"  
The guards both laughed, the sound hurting Daiki's ears. He wanted this to stop so badly. He tried closing his eyes, but it didn't work as they weren't his owns, but Voldemort's who was still watching them quietly.

"Dude, that's never going to happen! Dumbledore won't be that stupid to let him get close to Aomine!" one of them snorted.

"Yeah, I'll eat my broomstick if that happens. I bet Dumbledore will never get his plan through, it's just too risky. And also, how will he be able to integrate him?! Come on, he broke out of his cell twice this week already and all of our forces had to anesthetize him with everything they've got!"

"I know, totally crazy! But if the ministry really gets him out of here, at least we won't have to put up with him anymore, right?"

"Right! Kids are so troublesome these days." Both of them roared with laughter.

"And if he accidently dies when fighting against the followers of the Dark Lord, the ministry won't be sad either. It's practically a win-win situation!"

"Yeah, and we can finally sleep in peace."

"I hope so. Hey, I want you to check the second and third floor, alright? I'll go look for our little troublemaker." One guard turned around to approach the stairs, stopping in his tracks when spotting Voldemort whose full intention was to get noticed. The guard's eyes went wide as he stared at him in shock, his mouth opening.

"Oh...God..."  
One white flash and the second guy fell to the ground, being dead before even hitting the hard concrete floor. Before the first guard could draw his wand, Voldemort spoke a spell that sent him flying backwards into a wall. He then approached the man with fast steps, pulling him up with one white hand around his neck. The guard was spitting blood, unable to move his limbs. Voldemort bent down to look into the man's face.

"Where is Kagami," he hissed slowly and Daiki felt sick by hearing his rough scratchy voice. The other was wheezing, his eyeballs looking like they'd fall out of his head every second.

"Where," Voldemort repeated, his long bony fingers curling around the man's neck.

"Basement... Cell ten..."  
Daiki felt how Voldemort's face stretched into a grin as he let the guard drop, killing him like the other one. He then turned away from the corpse, walking down the stairs where it got darker with every step.

Almost no light was reaching the basement's aisle. It was shorter than the one from earlier, this time consisting only of exactly ten cells. Daiki had the urge to throw up.

Against his assumption, the prisoners were quiet, it gave Daiki the creeps. But it wasn't completely silent, there was a loud rattling noise heard every five seconds. It sounded like someone continuously throwing their body against the bars, not seeming to back down. The sound was coming from the very last cell, the one of which he knew was Voldemort's destination.  
Cell ten.


	26. Cell    X

The noise grew louder with every step into the dark aisle. Voldemort took his time approaching the cell where the rattling came from while Daiki was completely powerless, unable to do anything against it. The body crashed against the metal bars again and again when Voldemort finally came to a halt.

Daiki felt ill when noticing the Roman numerals above the cell door, a bold X symbolizing the ten. He knew it wouldn't help to pray that there was someone else in this cell, someone he didn't know. There had been a little spark of hope inside him that all of this hadn't happened this way, that Voldemort had faked this memory or that he'd meant Taiga's father when asking for Kagami.

But as much as he refused to believe it, it was Taiga who was trying so desperately to get out of his cell. Voldemort watched with amusement how he continued to throw himself against the bars with a hiss. Daiki knew his whole body must be in pain, but he didn't give up.   
Even though the redhead couldn't have seen or heard Voldemort, his head suddenly shot up, looking directly into his eyes.

And what Daiki saw scared the shit out of him. He definitely didn't know those eyes that were staring at him, looking rather threatening than surprised. For a moment he thought it wasn't Taiga. But Daiki's hope crumbled bit by bit when he slowly recognized his boyfriend's face underneath a layer of dirt and blood. The white in his eyes was inflamed, the vessels inside burst while his skin was as white as a sheet of papar. It even had a diseased tone of gray, making him look like all the other prisoners.

His eyes were still staring at Voldemort, glowing red in the darkness. Daiki watched how his pupils narrowed to slits, his gaze seeming even more intimidating. Taiga's usually so vivid red hair was disheveled and seemed two tones darker due to the dirt sticking to it. Daiki felt his heart aching by seeing his boyfriend like this.

"Fuck off..." His voice sounded awful as if he'd screamed for hours.

"What a nice way to be greeted," Voldemort showed him his ugly smile.

"I said fuck off!" Taiga repeated louder this time, throwing himself against the door of his cell with a snarl.

"Calm down, young Kagami, there's no need to be upset," he chuckled, a sound that made Daiki wanting to cover his ears.

"They died! They died because of you!" Taiga yelled, punching and hitting the metal bars in front of him until his hands started bleeding.

"It was their decision."

"I hate you!!" His voice broke down due to the strain as he gripped the bars with both hands, his knuckles turning white under the pressure. Blood and filth were between his fingernails that were too long, almost looking like claws.

"Don't be like that. It's been so long since I last saw you." Voldemort approached him slowly, making Taiga step back who was intimidated despite his fury.

"We never met before," he only hissed, staring right into his eyes.

"You just don't remember. You've grown a lot since then," Voldemort laughed quietly while the redhead was glaring at him disgusted.

"You're angry, aren't you? Not angry at me, but at yourself. For what you did."  
Taiga's breath was shaking as he exhaled.

"But you did nothing wrong, you know? They just don't understand because no one can imagine being in your position. And now that they think you're too dangerous to live among others, they brought you here where you'll slowly rot to death," he continued when the redhead wasn't answering, his glare losing intensity the longer he listened.

"No one will come to help you because there is no one who loves you."

"That's not true!" Taiga replied, but it sounded like he didn't believe himself.

"Then, name me one person that cares for you," Voldemort ordered, being so close to him now that the redhead could've easily scratched him. But instead his eyes were filled with despair and he looked down. Even though Daiki was scared and disturbed by the situation, he would've done everything to walk through that cell and hug Taiga, telling him that Dumbledore would get him out soon. He would've told him that _he_ cared for him and that there was no one else who he loved more.  
But this was the past and Daiki couldn't change it.

"Tatsuya..." Taiga murmured silently.

"No. You're alone. He's one of those who got you into here, he never wants to see you again. It doesn't matter to him what happens to you, it doesn't matter to anyone," Voldemort grinned and it hurt Daiki to see how Taiga fell more and more apart.

"Why are you here...?" The redhead's voice was quivering, but his glare was stable.

"I'm here because I know you're frustrated, you're vindictive. You want them to pay back for what they did to you. Kagami, you want to see blood."  
To Daiki's fright, the redhead didn't reply, he wasn't even shaking his head.

"I am here to help you. I can show you a world where you can live without others hating you for what you are, a world where you can do as you please. Living without scruple or guilt is a gift I can offer you. I'll allow you to still your hunger for revenge as much as you like."  
Refuse it, please refuse it, Daiki thought, his heart hammering in his chest.

"No. I know why you're doing this. You think you can use me against the ministry because they'd have problems to hold off someone like me," the redhead growled.

"It's true they're struggling with Half-breeds of your kind a lot, not that there are many of you, but you could deal great damage to them. For your species rage is a simple trigger for terrifying violence. You could slay them one by one without the ministry having a chance," Voldemort said with his rough voice while Taiga gritted his teeth in hate.

"But don't understand me wrong. I'm doing this for you. Your parents were dear to me, their loss is still tragical, they were one of my most loyal followers. I think it's my duty to watch out for their son who they loved so much. Come with me and you'd honor their sacrifice."   
Taiga took his time responding and Daiki feared that he'd accept. But the redhead's face darkened when he snarled at the man in front of him.

"You are nothing more than a filthy lier. You disgust me. If you open this door I swear that I won't hesitate to kill you," he hissed, clasping his hands threateningly.  
At that Voldemort dropped his facade, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know if you're just stubborn, but you shouldn't be able to resist with all the Dementors down here."

"Maybe they're not interested in me since I don't have happy memories anymore," Taiga laughed bitterly, his voice filled with so much wrath, Daiki wasn't able to recognize it.

"What do you think your life would look like without me? No one else will ever get you out of here! You honestly think they let you go one day and you can live normally while pretending this will have a happy end? Are you searching for friends and family, for peace and love? That's gross," Voldemort had raised his voice, sounding angrier than before. Taiga bared his teeth at him, not backing down.

"I won't go my parents' way and now get fucking lost!" he growled, launching forwards with the intention to drag his hand through Voldemort's face. The latter one dodged the long bowed fingernails not a second too early, aiming with his wand at Taiga.

"Crucio!"  
Daiki watched in horror how the spell hit the redhead, making him fall to the ground and scream in agony. He turned and writhed on the dirty concrete floor, the spell torturing him from the inside. Taiga continued to scream and weep, his cries resounding in Daiki's ears. When Voldemort finally lowered his wand, the redhead was laying in front of the bars exhausted, some of his body parts still cramping. His eyes were dull and he was panting, failing to move when Voldemort bent down and reached through the bars.

"I'll return soon. Until then I make sure more Dementors will come down here and that there will be someone using the Cruciatus Curse on you more often. You will soon lose your mind completely, Azkaban will slowly brainwash you until you're obeying me. The day I come back will be the day you are more than willing to dirty your hands for me, to cover yourself in the blood of those who once were dear to you." His voice sounded threatening, but almost caring at the same time as Voldemort placed his slender hand on Taiga's cheek, making him look at him for a moment. The redhead's eyes were filled with scare and hopelessness, he was shuddering under Voldemort's touch. The Dark Lord grinned before stepping back, looking at him for the last time.

"Don't disappoint me again, Kagami."  
Suddenly the aisle in front of him, the cells, even Taiga transformed into black smoke, blurring Daiki's vision before he opened his eyes to stare into the cold night sky.

"Daiki!!"  
He blinked, slowly realizing where he was.

"Dai-chan!"

"Daiki, can you hear me??"  
And he realized he was back, it was finally over. It was dark around him, the Patronuses were both gone, only the faint light of a wand was illuminating the place. Daiki's mind felt empty, the shock making it unable for him to think.

"Daiki, please answer!" How could such a concerned and worried voice sound that different? How could that beautiful face above him make expressions Daiki had never seen before?

"Dai-chan!"  
Since when was Satsuki here too? He tried to sit up, but he couldn't due to the arms holding onto his body tightly. He felt more than comfortable in those arms, so he stayed where he was, his head supported by a warm chest.

"Come on, Daiki, please!"   
When Daiki looked up into Taiga's face, he didn't know what to think. Should he feel bad for him, should he be scared, should he ask him what all of this was about?  
Who was Taiga?  
 _What_ was he?

"Thank God," the redhead exhaled with a quiver in his voice, hugging him even closer when noticing that Daiki was looking at him.

"Dai-chan, how are you? What have you seen?!"   
He felt how Satsuki took his hand soothingly.

"I..." he rasped when horrible pictures were suddenly flooding his mind, the prisoners, the long dark aisle, the two dead guards, the X above the cell door and red glowing eyes.

"It's cold," he said, shivering in Taiga's embrace.

"Let's go inside," Satsuki suggested, standing up.

"Can you walk?" the redhead asked him, carefully letting go. Daiki nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."  
What a lie.

They went back into the house and Daiki could only guess how late it was. 2 AM? 3? During the way Taiga was holding his hand in a tight grip, not letting go of him. He even stumbled once when refusing to look at anything else but Daiki.  
It was cute that he cared so much, but was that really him?  
He shook his head. Why was he doubting Taiga all of a sudden? Taiga who forgave him, Taiga who was constantly worried about him, Taiga who loved him with all his heart.   
It had been Azkaban that had changed him.

The three sneaked into Daiki's and Taiga's room, Satsuki coming with them. From what she told her, she'd seen their Patronuses outside and started to wonder, going outside when she saw the panther disappearing. Apparently she'd found them while Daiki had had his vision and Taiga had embraced his body in concern.

"Hopefully no one heard us," Satsuki bit her lip when Daiki sat down on his bed, Taiga right next to him.

"Daiki, what's wrong?" he asked him, gently grabbing his shoulder to make him look at him. Daiki quickly turned his head away.

"Daiki..." He sounded almost scared.

"I'm sorry," Daiki finally murmured.

"Dai-chan, what happened? Is it Voldemort? You mustn't let him invade your mind!" Satsuki took his hand again.

"I... saw you." He noticed how Taiga paled, seeming even more scared.

"Then why are you-..." Satsuki got interrupted.

" _He_ arrived at Azkaban before Dumbledore," he just said, staring on the ground.

"What..." She stared at him aghast.

"He searched for you." Daiki looked at Taiga again whose breath was quickening.

"And... he found me," the redhead figured quietly and Daiki nodded.

"But... Dumbledore said he'd been there before Voldemort! Why hadn't he taken Taiga away if he found him first?" Satsuki furrowed her brows.

"He didn't know that Dumbledore would come to free him, so he wanted to take his time," Daiki answered. Taiga had closed his eyes next to him, refusing to look at his friends.

"Why are you seeing this, though? This happened in the past, so why..." Satsuki buried her hands in her hair.

"I don't know, my last vision has been in the past too..." he mumbled with a side glance at Taiga who seemed to stare into space.

"You had another vision before this?!" the girl asked him shocked.

"Yeah, it... was about Taiga's father..."  
The redhead clenched his fists next to him. Satsuki noticed it too and looked at him in pity.

"I better leave the two of you alone, you'll figure it out. Please take care of each other, I'll wake you up tomorrow." She didn't smile at them like usual, exiting through the door with a worried expression.  
For a few moments no one said a word after she'd closed the door.

"Daiki... What have you seen?" Taiga asked him with a serious tone, but Daiki heard the slight desperation in his voice. If he didn't make him look at him right now, there would be something between them that would make their relationship more difficult...

"Taiga." Daiki grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him towards him, looking directly into a face full of insecureness.

"I... I know you're... not like most people, but I won't turn away from you!"

"Daiki, I asked you what you saw since I can't remember my time in Azkaban." His voice was shaking, but he sounded demanding.

"I don't know what I did in there, I don't know how I was, and I don't know what you're thinking about me right now."  
Daiki slowly let go of his shoulders. He decided to just tell him the truth, that's what he owed him.

"He found you inside a cell in the basement. You weren't the one I know... and not the one I learned to love, but... it was you." Daiki shortly looked up, immediately regretting it when seeing Taiga squinting his eyes together.

"It was you, Taiga. And I know you suffered a lot, Azkaban turns people insane in no time." He carefully took the redhead's hand, laying it between his own.

"Was I... insane?" Taiga asked him, observing how Daiki began stroking his fingers.

"No... Voldemort offered to free you, but you refused. He said you could revenge yourself and he wanted you to kill for him. You said no, you didn't want to end like your parents."

"Is that true?" the redhead whispered with wide eyes.

"Yeah, and you don't know how glad I was you rejected his offer. Although you looked horrible and I... I was scared, I would've joined you in that cell any moment."  
Taiga said nothing and only continued to stare at him.

"You told him to fuck off, even though he would've gotten you out of there. I guess I admire you for that, but you always were too brave for your own good," Daiki smiled at him weakly.

"What happened then? Did he just... leave...?" Taiga muttered while Daiki was wondering how it was possible that those eyes could look so different. They could be bright, filled with joy and kindness or they could be dull, looking despaired and sad. But they also could be dark and cold, glowing dangerously, contenting nothing but aggression behind slit pupils that made him look inhuman for the first time.

"No. He tortured you and told you he'd come back until you'd be completely brainwashed," Daiki uttered painfully, remembering how Taiga had been screaming and crying on the floor of his cell.

"But that never happened. Dumbledore found you and got you out before your condition could worsen. And to be honest, if I had been in your position, I would've probably accepted Voldemort's offer out of despair. I'm sure that Azkaban would've made me crazy," he added.

"I... Daiki, I... I made a lot of mistakes. It was their right to send me to Azkaban," Taiga began sobbing quietly, a sound that hurt Daiki's heart. The redhead seemed so vulnerable at the moment, so tiny, so powerless.

"No, it wasn't. I know who you are. You want a peaceful life, you want to experience friendship and you even fell in love. With me of all people and that's nuts because I'm an arrogant bastard that needs full time entertainment!" Daiki silently laughed, happy when Taiga warily smiled at him.

"That's not true. You put a lot of effort into me, even though you're getting nothing back. But... But I'd do everything for you, Daiki! I'll go everywhere you go, I'd even die for you!"

"Woah!" Daiki blinked at him taken aback.

"Let's just both stay alive, alright? I would never want you to die! And now come here, I have the feeling you need a hug." With that Daiki extended his arms, draping them around Taiga's torso, effectively pulling him closer. The redhead returned the hug, placing his head on Daiki's shoulder.

"You're amazing, Daiki, seriously. Although you're the one seeing those awful things and you're being chased by Voldemort all the time, you're staying calm. You're a lot tougher than I am. I never had to comfort you, it's always me who's breaking down. Damn, I feel pathetic..." Taiga sighed when the other began to rub his back.

"It's okay, you've got a lot of shit to deal with. I'm glad I can calm you down, you know?" Daiki hummed.

"I know... But you don't have it easy either."

"That's true and I think I'd be lost without you. Even your presence keeps me at ease, that's why I'm not frustrated all the time. And if I'm not feeling well, I can kiss and cuddle you until I'm better. I just want to say you're giving me back a lot more than you think." He slowly laid down, taking Taiga with him before covering them with the blanket. Turning around in his arms, he let his boyfriend spoon him, directing the other's hands to close around his middle.

"I... I don't really know what to say," Taiga chuckled nervously behind him, moving his hips to get comfortable.

"You don't have to say anything. Just hug me in my sleep and don't let me go until I wake up," Daiki yawned, leaning back into his boyfriend.

"Oh, sure. Are we... Are we going to solve everything tomorrow? I mean, why you're seeing things from the past and-..."

"Hey, what in the past is, is in the past. I don't care about it and it's not important for us. What matters is what happens now," he interrupted the redhead.

"And Taiga?"

"Yeah?"

"I want a goodnight kiss."

"Ah, of course," Taiga mumbled shyly, raising his head to place his lips on Daiki's cheek.

"Good night, Daiki."  
Good night were the right words for him. Tomorrow he'd sort his thoughts to connect all the pieces until everything would fit together and made sense.

* * *

The next day there somehow was a tension between them. Although Daiki had lent Taiga his infamous turtleneck sweater, loosening up their situation by laughing at him for getting flustered, the redhead was more insecure than usual.  
In the afternoon, he, Taiga and Satsuki were sitting in his room because the girl had wanted to immediately initiate a talk.

"Okay, listen guys, I figured something out!" she began after closing the door behind her.

"Dai-chan, since yesterday you've had three visions, right?"

"Uh, yeah, so what's the big deal?" Daiki asked a bit confused due to her sudden excitement.

"In your first vision, you've only seen Voldemort and no one else. This had also been the most painful one and you told us it had felt like he was looking straight into your head!"

"Yeah, I know, but-..." Daiki got interrupted by her.

"What if he really _looked_ into your head?"

"Oh," Taiga said, seeming to understand what she was implying.

"My theory is that Voldemort was searching through your mind for vulnerability or the thing you most care about, in this case your lovely boyfriend!"  
Daiki blushed at her formulation.

"But what's the exact point? He obviously found out that Taiga and I are very close, but what's his goal?" he frowned.

"Dai-chan, he's showing you bad memories of Taiga or anything that's related to him in an ugly way obviously because he wants to destroy you mentally! He wants you to be weak, but you can't be as long as you love Taiga. Do you understand?"

"So he wants me to... distrust him?" Daiki figured with a glance at his redhead who was looking at him a bit helplessly.

"Yes, exactly! I have the feeling he wants you to send him away, just like Akashi and many others told you to. And by showing you those visions, he'll make sure his plan is going to work," Satsuki nodded, staring at them with a serious face.

"He can eat shit if he thinks that's gonna happen!" Daiki growled, grabbing Taiga's arm to pull him over to him. The redhead was a bit startled, but smiled somewhat relieved when the other laid his arm around him before shortly ruffling through his hair and pressing a kiss on his temple.

"You guys," Satsuki giggled, her eyes softening when she watched how Daiki tried to heave Taiga into his lap (which wasn't as easy as he'd thought), causing both of them to fall to the side.

"Idiot," the redhead groaned before the two sat up again.

"You really are the sweetest," Satsuki cued and Daiki almost regretted to have kissed Taiga in front of her.

"I'm really glad you found each other. Honestly, I thought you were a helpless case, Dai-chan, but you just needed to look for the right person. As long as you two hold together, I'm sure no one can harm you. And I also think that not even Voldemort can tear you apart," she added, smiling at them reassuringly.

"Thank you, Satsuki," Taiga hummed with genuine after Daiki had managed to pull him into his arms.

"I'm seriously disappointed that you're not letting me be a part of your conversation." Everyone looked at the door in wonder, just to see that it was opened and a pair of light blue eyes was staring at them.

"Woah, Tetsu!" Daiki shouted, clinging onto Taiga in surprise. The short wizard entered the room, slightly glaring at the three.

"It was really mean of you to hide your relationship in front of us," Tetsuya said with a frown, sitting down on the ground next to Satsuki.

"They're idiots, you have to forgive them," the girl sighed, causing the two to grumble in embarrassment.   
After a short explanation of how they exactly got together, the short wizard stared at them with a blank expression.

"Congratulations, though I already knew it. I once saw you kissing in the sleeping dorm, but I wanted to wait until you'd tell us," he said.

"Wait, what?!" Daiki screeched.

"I know it won't be easy for the two of you, but I approve and am willing to join the Aokaga protection squad."

"Uh... the what?" Taiga stared at him confused.

"Tetsuya, our ship has sailed!" Satsuki grinned at him widely before they high-fived each other.

"I don't get it with the ship," the redhead grumbled in bewilderment.

"I'm going to plan your wedding, alright?" Satsuki smiled at them with sparkling eyes while Taiga was being ignored once again.

"What the hell, we're too young for that!" Daiki replied loudly.

"Unfortunately, yeah..." she sighed.

"I can't wait to see you holding hands and kissing in front of the altar," the girl raved.

"Okay, that's enough, this gets embarrassing!" Daiki growled.

"What exactly were you doing in the shower the day before yesterday?" Tetsuya jokingly narrowed his eyes at them.

"We uh... showered?" Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, totally. But you didn't do it, did you?" Satsuki almost looked like she hoped him to say yes.

"Ugh, no no no! Not even close!!" Taiga replied.

"I wouldn't have suspected you are that decent to not do it in _my_ house," Tetsuya pulled up his brows in amusement.

"Well, I wanted to, but he suddenly started ranting about me being disrespectful and stuff. Looks like he's able to take good care of me," Daiki smirked.

"I'm happy to hear that. Still, it looks like you're not really able to hold back, Daiki. I don't have another explanation why Taiga should wear your ugly turtleneck sweater."

"Tetsu, how the fuck are you so sly?!"

"Oh Dai-chan, does that mean there are hickeys on Taiga's neck??" Satsuki blinked at him with red cheeks.

"Nope, no, no, no, you're definitely getting this wrong," the redhead cleared his throat.

"Well, if you show me, I could cover them up with a spell, so Taiga doesn't have to wear your ugly sweater..." she smiled at them somehow deceitfully.

"Hey, it's not ugly, it makes him look cute, alright?!" Daiki protested.

"I'm not cute... But I'd like to get rid of this sweater too," Taiga admitted with a grunt, taking off the piece of clothing.

"Oh well, this looks like quite a few intimate moments you spent together," Tetsuya deadpanned when inspecting the redhead's neck.

"You two are sooo sweet!" Satsuki just squealed.

"Could you please make them vanish now?" Taiga asked with a sigh.

"Fine," Satsuki exhaled, seeming a bit reluctant after all. Taking out her wand, she casted a spell (which Daiki didn't know if course) that made the hickeys above his collarbone disappear.

"Hey, that's been hard work! You just destroyed the only proof that Taiga belongs to me!" Daiki groaned, placing his head on his boyfriend's shoulder in defeat.

"You don't need a prove for that, dumbass," the redhead growled.

"Aww, how romantic!"

"It wasn't meant like this!"

"Alright, I know you two are romantically involved now, but we should get serious again. Is it true that you had another vision last night, Daiki?" Tetsuya asked and Daiki didn't even make the effort to question him how he could know that.

"Yeah, we already discussed that," he frowned, not really wanting to get serious again.

"I know, but were you also considering that You-know-who kills two birds with one stone by trying to tear you apart?"

"What do you mean?" Taiga furrowed his brows.

"On one side, Daiki would be weaker like Satsuki said, but on the other hand, he also tries to get Taiga on his side. That's why both of you should watch out even more," Tetsuya explained.

"Don't worry, we always will," Daiki grinned, linking his hand with Taiga's.

"I really hope so," Tetsuya smiled a bit unsure.

* * *

The next night, Daiki finally figured it out. His eyes snapped open in realization, it should've been clear, but his brain had decided to deny certain facts. It was the only explanation though; He found out what Taiga was, or more specific, what his father was.

A Vampire. Of course, there was no other option. If he'd had listened to Snape's presentation about Vampires, he'd have figured it out way sooner. But Daiki was at least able to remember that being's features. Tall and pale, hollow cheeks and fangs. That definitely fit to Taiga's father, but not to the redhead himself. That's probably also why Daiki had needed so long. Taiga's skin was lightly tanned, golden so to say. Sure, he was tall, but he didn't exactly share any similarities with a Vampire. Daiki was sure that Taiga's human side was dominant since he could be out in daylight and wasn't afraid of crosses, holy water and whatever stuff. Also, what relieved him the most, the redhead didn't have fangs like a Vampire, not in the least. His teeth were as normal as Daiki's and he also ate normal food which a Vampire couldn't, that he was certain of.

All the times his head had laid on Taiga's chest, he'd listened to his heartbeat which was always faster when Daiki was close to him. A Vampire belonged to the undead, they had cold bodies, empty veins and a heart that wasn't beating. But Taiga was quite the opposite. Whenever Daiki was cold, the redhead would warm him up. The warmth of his skin always managed to make him feel comfortable.

Now that he compared it, maybe he was completely wrong. Taiga didn't share _any_ similarities with a Vampire.  
No. Red shining eyes with vertical pupils were flashing in his mind, remembering him of his vision. Daiki also recalled that Taiga's body had been cold the last night. He'd assumed it had been the sudden temperature change after they'd jumped out of the window, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

He started wondering if there was something else he'd missed. As far as he knew, Taiga wasn't drinking blood, the thought itself sounded absurd. But since he didn't have the Vampire typical fangs and was also eating a (more than) decent amount of food, Daiki wasn't concerned about it. What made him worry was the aggression Voldemort had talked about. Maybe that was why no one wanted Taiga close to him, why no one wanted him close to anyone. If he'd been better informed, he would've known more about it, but Daiki was pretty sure that Vampires got violent easily.

But was Taiga the same?  
He recalled the week after their fight, how the redhead had simply hauled Haizaki against a wall and how he'd lifted up Daiki with just one hand. Maybe something similar had happened at Durmstrang. Taiga had fought with Himuro and then it somehow got out of control. And since he was a Half-breed and his parents were known as cruel death eaters, the Durmstrang staff had sent him to Azkaban, simply deciding that he wasn't worth it.   
That must have been the reason, at least to Daiki it made sense.

He hugged the sleeping body in front of him closer, nuzzling his face into Taiga's nape, inhaling his scent deeply.   
Why was everyone making such a fuss about him? Taiga was the victim here, he just wanted to be like everyone else and have a life without discrimination and humiliation. Most people were just blind and ignorant. But Daiki was relieved he'd figured it out and he also understood why Taiga was refusing to tell him about himself after being treated like trash. He was scared to be dropped again, like Himuro had done.

Sometime in the future he was sure that the redhead would tell him after having trusted each other for so long. And then Daiki would say "I know, don't worry." And it would be the greatest feeling ever to hug and kiss him that moment while he'd tell Taiga that he didn't care that his father had been a Vampire, that it wasn't important.

Daiki closed his eyes, shifting to entangle their legs again and pressing a kiss on the soft skin of Taiga's nape. He heard their heartbeats, the redhead's was calm and slow while his own was quicker, as it was still exciting for Daiki to touch his boyfriend. His arms were closed around Taiga's waist when he tightened his hold onto him.  
Taiga was his, and he'd always be.  
With those words stuck to his mind, he was able to fall asleep again. This time with a smile on his face.

If he'd just known that he was living in his own naïve world.


	27. After the sun sets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I don't have the time to read more than once through it, so hopefully there are not so many mistakes... ^^°  
> If you find any, please tell me!  
> (*/ω＼*)

The next few days at the Burrow were nice and peaceful. No more visions had afflicted Daiki and even Taiga laughed more often. Mrs Kuroko cooked for them in the evening while Mr Kuroko joked around when he came back from work, trying to play quidditch with them. It was funny to see how Tetsuya would slightly glare at his father whenever said one was a bit too embarrassing.

Aside from the fact that Satsuki almost poisoned them with her cake, nothing special happened. They laughed together often, Daiki once had spotted a small smile on Midorima's face when he'd won a game of Gobstones. Kise wasn't as annoying as always and even Akashi seemed to have decided to stop insulting Taiga for a while.

All of them slowly forgot what they'd have to face soon and just enjoyed the time at Tetsuya's house. Especially Daiki was happy. With no visions poisoning his mind anymore, he'd decided to lean back and be with Taiga every second. They'd hold hands under the table and during walks when no one was looking. When the two were alone, mostly in Daiki's room, they kissed and hugged each other or cuddled on the bed. Daiki loved to hear Taiga laughing whenever he'd start tickling him to get to kiss him once more.

Although in Daiki's opinion those moments were the best, quidditch also made him smile. It was fun to chase after Taiga and vise versa. Sometimes they'd crash (unintentionally of course) and fall, leading them to a small wrestling match on the ground. Satsuki once wanted to try quidditch too, so Tetsuya gave her his broomstick and offered her to play as a Beater. But after hauling a Bludger right into Midorima's face with full power, easily knocking his glasses twenty meters away, she quickly refrained from continuing to play.

"Midorin, I'm so sorry!" Satsuki had blinked at him in apology when Midorima glared at her with a bleeding nose while the others were trying to find his glasses, failing to stifle their laughter.

In no time, it already was the last evening. Although all of them sighed just by thinking of school (except Satsuki), they all were glad it was the last time they'd have to endure Mrs Kuroko's cooking. Some of them like Kise, Murasakibara and Midorima, who still felt a bit dizzy, went to bed early.

"How about we watch the sunset then?" Satsuki winked at Daiki and Taiga.

"Ugh, no, it's too cold outside," Daiki replied, rather wanting to be alone with his redhead who was currently eating the remnants of the stew.

"At least you're eating it," Mrs Kuroko sighed, coming out of the kitchen. Shortly ruffling through Taiga's hair, she began to clear the table.

"And watching the sunset is a nice idea, Satsuki! I'd join you, but I've got a lot of things to do. Why don't you go to the rooftop? There you have the best view!" she grinned.

"Oh, no, it's even colder there!" Daiki groaned.

"But Daiki-chan, you just have to pull on a jacket. And if you don't have one, I'm sure Taiga will lend you his," Mrs Kuroko smiled, patting Daiki's back while winking at the redhead.

"Yeah, Dai-chan, come one, it's gonna be _romantic,"_ Satsuki decided to tease him too. In the end he grumbled an agreement with a blush on his face, snatching Taiga's jacket when they walked up the stairs.

"Hey, if you want me to lend it to you, you gotta ask first!" the redhead protested, chasing after him.

"Jeez, calm down, you can have mine," Daiki sighed with a smirk.

"Oh, yeah? Out of _coincidence,_ I know that you stuffed yours under our bed because it's hella dirty from quidditch!" Taiga retorted.

"Did you just say _our_ bed?" Satsuki cackled while Tetsuya rolled his eyes somehow amused.

"I thought that was obvious," Daiki shrugged with a huff.

"Yeah, Dai-chan, but you could also just tell Taiga you want to share his jacket with him so badly!" she grinned.

"Whatever, let's go before I'm getting tired of this," he grumbled.

"You're blushing, Dai-chan!"

"Shut up..."

The way to the rooftop was long and since the stairs creaked with every step, Daiki soon lost motivation. When they finally reached the attic, a ladder was leading them outside. Taiga had to sneeze continuously because he seemed to be allergic to all the dust. Daiki didn't have it better when he accidently ran into a big fat spiderweb...  
After the four had finally reached the rooftop, Tetsuya closed the hatch behind him (Daiki insisted on that, he was pretty sure a giant spider was hunting him right now because he'd destroyed its web).

"Damn, it's really chilly out here," Taiga shivered, being the only one without a jacket. Satsuki turned around to face Daiki, pulling up her brows when looking at him as if to say _"Take care of him!"_

"The sunset is quite nice, though," Tetsuya hummed, sitting down a few feet away from the chimney. The others joined him, Taiga hugging his torso because he was freezing. After Satsuki slapped the back of his head rather harshly, Daiki opened his jacket (that wasn't even his in the first place), and scooted over to the redhead, trying to cover them both with it.

"I don't know what you're trying, but it's obviously not working," the redhead frowned, though he was smiling due to Daiki's effort.

"Can't help it, you're too big," the latter one growled, pulling the jacket on again.

"And now you're letting me freeze to death?" Taiga whined, falling back comically.

"Engorgio!" Satsuki pointed with her wand at the jacket which suddenly enlarged, being now twice as big as before.

"Solved it," she added with a smirk.

"I have the feeling it's getting corny here," Tetsuya stated with a blank face while watching how Daiki opened the jacket again with a wondering expression and Taiga gladly placed himself in Daiki's lap before the other pulled up the zipper. The redhead sighed contently, leaning back into his boyfriend while said one heard Satsuki dying from cuteness in the background with all her squealing.

"You're so warm," Taiga mumbled, jostling a bit to be able to hug Daiki and nuzzle his face into his neck.

"I don't want to destroy your moment, but you're looking plain stupid," Tetsuya said with a small smile.

"But they're so cute!" Satsuki replied.

"It still looks weird..."

"Shut up, Tetsu. Just because you have no one to share your jacket with..."

"At least I'm not an idiot," the small wizard glared at Daiki who was currently trying to slow down his heartbeat. It wasn't quite working when the redhead started to place soft kisses on his neck.

"Woah, hey, your hands are cold!" Daiki shivered when Taiga had suddenly shoved them under his shirt, letting them rest on his bare back. The touch immediately caused goosebumps on his skin as he tried to squirm away which was not possible with both of them locked inside the jacket.

"Those are the consequences of constantly stealing my clothes!" Taiga smirked at him, sliding his hands upwards.

"You dickhead!" Daiki shouted while continuing to shiver, not being able to retract the cold hands from his body since his own arms were captured by the sleeves.

"Just let me warm up a little..." the other hummed, but to Daiki's relief, he pulled his hands away to close his arms around him.

"We originally were supposed to watch the sunset..." Tetsuya deadpanned, still observing the two idiots who were stuck in one jacket now.

"I even brought snacks, am I not the greatest?" Satsuki grinned at them.

"Oh my God, Satsuki, you are the greatest!" Daiki instantly agreed when seeing the Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs and Bertie Bott's Beans that she filled inside a bowl she took from the kitchen.

"Slow down, Dai-chan!" Satsuki laughed when said one stuffed his mouth.

"I think the sunset is really beautiful..." Tetsuya threw in to get back to the original topic.

"Yeah, sho beaufifull," Daiki spoke while chewing, looking not at the sunset, but at Taiga who was rolling his eyes. Tetsuya sighed in defeat.

"Hey, you want some too?" Satsuki asked, handing the bowl over to Taiga.

"Haha, very funny," the redhead grumbled, not being able to move his arms outside the jacket. The girl's cheeks reddened as she grinned at them mischievously.

"Ooh no! What do we do now? Our poor tiger has to eat too! Well, Dai-chan, it looks like you have to feed him..."

"..."

"Satsuki. You did plan this right from the beginning, didn't you..." Daiki stated with a flat voice, squinting his eyes at her.

"But, Dai-chan, what are you talking about?" she laughed innocently while Tetsuya was demonstratively staring at the sunset.

"Give up, Daiki, she's smarter than us, we can't do anything," Taiga yawned.

"Why is it so much fun for you to see us embarrassed..." he growled into Satsuki's direction before grabbing another chocolate frog.

"There you go." He held it in front of Taiga, who was opening his mouth expectantly, only to glare at Daiki when said one threw it into his own mouth with a smirk.

"Why did I know you'd do this," the redhead scowled.

"Aww, you're cute," Daiki teased him, holding the next sweet in front of Taiga's face temptingly before eating it himself.

"Oh, you're gonna regret this," Taiga narrowed his eyes.

"Too bad you can't do anything." Daiki threw him a cocky look, taking one of the good-flavoured beans. But just before he could eat it again, Taiga's head snapped forward as he fully bit onto Daiki's fingers.

"Ow!! Let go, dumbass!!" He cursed, desperately trying to pull his fingers out of his mouth. When he finally succeeded, Taiga smiled at him sheepishly before swallowing the Jelly Bean.

"You should watch out for your fingers, though. They almost tasted better," he winked at Daiki.

"That's it, no feeding anymore." The latter one flicked his fingers at the back of Taiga's head in revenge.

"Why don't you kiss each other and then-..."

"Stop stalking us, Satsuki!" Daiki shouted with a blush on his face.

"But it would be so sweet of you to exchange a sweet with your mouths," the girl pouted.

"Ew, no..." both of them refused simultaneously.

"At least not with you around," Daiki added, causing Satsuki to sigh.

"Guys, I'm honest, please concentrate on the sunset now. Everyone who says a word will be banished from the rooftop," Tetsuya threatened them. Daiki reluctantly looked away from Taiga to see the last bit of the sun vanishing behind the horizon. The flaming colors of the sky reminded him of Taiga's hair and the deepest tone of red exactly looked like his eyes. When his gaze wandered upwards, he could see the night sky that was still a bit enlightened by the sun. If he squinted his eyes, he could make out a few stars. The sky was a bit too dark to resemble his hair color, but he liked the thought of Taiga being the sun and him being the sky. Daiki had to smile at his stupid thoughts and when he looked at the redhead, he saw him smiling too. Maybe he was thinking the same?

Taiga's hands quietly wandered under his shirt again, but now they were warm, emitting a pleasant heat like his whole body. Daiki felt his heart speeding up when the redhead drew small circles with his fingers, caressing the skin above his hip bone. When he looked back at him, he smiled at him gently and Daiki was sure, this was the facial expression of someone who was deeply in love. He smiled back at Taiga who had laid his head on Daiki's shoulder while continuing to just look at him.

This was _his_ Taiga. No one else would be ever allowed to be that close to him, and no one else was allowed to see him the way Daiki did.  
He watched how Taiga's lips stretched into a childish grin in the fainting light. Without being really aware of Satsuki and Tetsuya next to them, Daiki raised his head like on reflex, letting their lips connect. He still felt Taiga's smile when he began moving, softly nibbling on the other's bottom lip. The redhead chuckled lowly, definitely one of Daiki's favorite sounds. It always managed to calm him down. Taiga increased the pressure of their kiss, his lips catching Daiki's perfectly.

They only stopped when the red color of the sky completely faded, leaving back the cold night sky. The redhead had closed his eyes while holding onto Daiki, the last rays of light dancing on his face. He just couldn't avert his gaze from Taiga, Daiki's eyes were glued to him.   
How could someone be so beautiful? It wasn't just his physical appearance, but also his inner values that made him so stunning in Daiki's view.

He could hear his own heartbeat, and Daiki had the feeling he just fell a bit more for Taiga, even though he already loved him so much more than he'd ever loved somebody.  
Maybe his theory about the redhead's race was completely wrong. How could such a soft and sincere soul be related to the cold and cruel one of a Vampire? It just didn't make sense.

Pictures of Azkaban were suddenly flooding his mind, but they were faint and far away, not being able to destroy this moment. Hadn't Daiki told him that the past didn't matter? Hadn't he said that he didn't care?  
Now, did he?  
Taiga hummed and rubbed his cheek against Daiki's neck, searching comfort. He couldn't help but smile.  
No, he did not care. Maybe he should just forget it.

"It's getting cold," Satsuki said and when Daiki turned to her, she was looking at the two with a fond smile.

"Yeah, now that the sun is gone it's too dark. Let's go back inside." Tetsuya stood up, walking over to the hatch to open it.

"Not yet, it's not that cold!" Daiki protested.

"Pff, I can believe both of you are very warm in that jacket..." Satsuki giggled.

"Then leave without us!"

"Oh no, if we leave you alone, you two would probably fall asleep and accidently roll down the rooftop. And in the morning we have two corpses laying in front of the entrance door..." Tetsuya deadpanned.

"That's not gonna happen, Taiga knows how to stop us from falling, right?" Daiki grinned at his boyfriend who still had his eyes closed, tiredly mumbling something unintelligible.

"Who says Taiga is going to wake up when you fall?" Satsuki winked at him, being already through the hatch. Daiki sighed loudly.

"Fiiiiine..." he groaned, having a few problems to open the enlarged jacket. When he finally succeeded, the redhead shivered in his arms as the cold night air hit him.

"Come on, let's go," he hummed gently, kissing Taiga's forehead before stuffing the jacket under his arm. The redhead was a bit drowsy and almost fell down the ladder, causing Daiki to grab his hand afterwards, refusing to let him walk on his own.

"Why are you so tired all of a sudden?" he chuckled, ruffling the wine red hair.

"Dunno," Taiga muttered, letting Daiki support him. The latter one would've almost offered him to carry him on his back (just to feel his boyfriend wrapped around his body), but the redhead was a bit too heavy for his liking. It was cute how he clinged onto him, though, on the verge of just falling asleep. Satsuki laughed when seeing the two and wished them a good night.

"Don't wake up too late, we've got school tomorrow and I know you still have to pack your stuff, Dai-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah, good night," he grumbled before entering their room with Taiga latched onto his body like a koala bear. When closing the door behind them, Daiki was suddenly painfully aware of the fact that this was going to be their last night at the Burrow, meaning the last time they could sleep in one bed.

"Hey, Taiga..." he pouted, trying to get the other out of his haze.

"Open your eyes, you idiot! If you fall asleep, you won't notice me giving you the world's best blowjob!"  
That definitely worked since the redhead suddenly stared at him wide-eyed, quickly distancing himself.

"What the actual fuck?!" he shouted while Daiki just grinned at him.

"You're not serious, are you..." Taiga then frowned at him.

"Well, originally I only wanted to wake you up, but I wouldn't mind..." Daiki admitted, trying to let it sound like he wasn't embarrassed at all.

"Wait, what, no, no, no! I almost fell asleep just before you suddenly started with... this kind of thing..." the redhead sulked and looked away, his cheeks reddening.

"But this is our last night together!"

"Shhh, the others are sleeping," Taiga lowered his voice.

"I'm serious over here! In Hogwarts we will never ever get the chance to kiss without someone seeing it, and sleeping in one bed is also out of question! This is going to be my end!" he clutched the hem of Taiga's shirt dramatically.

"I'm sure there a few secluded places..."

"No!! I'm the famous Daiki Aomine, _everyone_ is watching me!" he replied.

"Then we just have to... I don't know, hide somewhere...?" Taiga cocked one eyebrow. Daiki fell to the side, groaning into the pillow.

"That's it gonna be. The end of my short love life is close. I will die unsatisfied because the great and mighty Daiki Aomine can't kiss his super hot boyfriend in public..."

"Hey, we'll figure something out," Taiga chuckled, placing his hand on Daiki's nape before starting to comb through his hair.

"Don't bother with that, I knew I was gonna die young. The worst thing is that I will die without having had sex with you once..." He let out a long pitiable sigh.

"Daiki Aomine, our brave hero, our infinite virgin, died because of certain Hogwarts rules that forbid him to stick his dick into places where it doesn't belong," Taiga said with a serious voice, folding his hands in front of his chest as if praying.

"You're mean!" Daiki hit the other's back with his shirt he'd taken off. It was honestly depressing that he wouldn't be able to kiss or even hug Taiga as soon as they were in Hogwarts again. Just the thought of it made him want to stop time. He just needed to touch the redhead, he needed to feel his skin against his, his lips, his hands. And of course Daiki also wanted to see him naked again, being intimate with him at a place where no one was watching them. But he'd miss falling asleep and waking up in Taiga's arms the most. The amount of how much they kissed would be reduced too, and that at a time where Daiki wanted even more than just kissing or touching him.  
Frick, it was rare that he hated Hogwarts that much...  
Daiki continued cursing into the pillow, enjoying the feeling of Taiga's fingers fondling with his hair.

"You're cute like this," the redhead laughed.

"I'm not cute, I'm frustrated! I mean, I haven't even licked your nipples yet!"

"That again..." Taiga groaned, standing up to get changed into his pajamas. Daiki watched how he took off his clothes, admiring the flexing back muscles when he pulled his sleeveless shirt over his head. Daiki groaned inwardly. It urged him to just jump his boyfriend, to have him under him or on top of him in this bed, moaning his name. He knew he was kind of a pervert, but he was seventeen for God's sake and he had the best boyfriend ever, so it would be only natural for them to do it some day. Daiki was excited to find out what it would feel like, how it worked and if Taiga would enjoy it. He wanted to figure it out with him and experience it together. He was sure it would feel amazing to be even closer to Taiga.

"Instead of drooling, you should change too," the redhead suddenly brought him back to reality, looking down at him in amusement.

"Nah, I'll just sleep in my underwear," Daiki replied.

"Isn't that cold? It's November..."

"It's never cold with someone as hot as me in the bed," Daiki wiggled his eyebrows as he pulled up the blanket to let Taiga get under it too.

"Whatever, Mr Aomine," Taiga yawned with a smile when crawling on top of Daiki to lay down on his chest.

"Good night kiss!" Daiki demanded, causing the other to laugh and softly peck his lips.

"That one's not counting! I want a real one," he insisted after Taiga had laid down again.

"You're so bothersome," he sighed, but raised his head once again to place his lips on Daiki's. The latter one smirked inwardly, now he wasn't going to let go of him. His tongue entered Taiga's mouth in the blink of an eye, turning the supposed to be innocent kiss into a passionate one. Taiga grunted when also noticing that Daiki hadn't had enough of him yet. His hands slipped under his boyfriend's shirt, caressing his back and sliding up to hold onto his shoulder blades. Although Taiga was a bit reluctant, seeming to care about the fact that they had school tomorrow, he gave in to Daiki soon, responding the kiss eagerly.

"That sure was an interesting good night kiss," the redhead threw in when they had to part for air.

"Who said I'm done?" Daiki grinned at him.

"We're supposed to sleep."

"No, I don't think so."

"You're an idiot..." Taiga sighed before their lips met again. Daiki smiled into the kiss and wrapped his legs around the redhead while their tongues slid against each other in fast movements. It was funny how quickly their kissing had developed. In the beginning it had been hesitant and shy, none of the two had really known what they were doing, never having kissed anyone before. But now they knew each other so well, they were aware of what the other liked, how they synced perfectly. They understood the other without talking, it was as if Daiki knew how Taiga was going to move next.

The redhead's hands were on his shoulders, wandering up to cup his face. Daiki wished Taiga would wear less, it would be so much more thrilling if he got rid of his shirts or his way too long pajama pants. And then he'd risk it again to shove his hand into Taiga's underwear to watch how he'd jerk away with a heavy blush on his face, scolding Daiki with his flustered voice.

"Daiki..." the redhead growled and slightly glared at him with a red face. Sure, of course it had to happen. In no time his blood had rushed downward, forming a visible bulge in his boxer briefs.

"You're so sexy, I can't help it," he just shrugged with a smirk, causing the other to groan.

"Either you're going to the bathroom to fix it now, and with fixing I mean using cold water, or you wait until it goes away," Taiga grumbled, avoiding to lay down on him again.

"Isn't there another option?" Daiki drawled, bucking his hips which caused the redhead to yelp.

"N-no, there is not! We already had that!" he refused, his face flushed.

"Please Taiga, you won't regret it," he begged while trying to imitate Satsuki's puppy eyes.

"You're really making my life harder than it already is..." the redhead huffed.

"Yeah, and you're making me hard!"

"Shut up before I'm deciding to sleep in the other bed!"

"Okay, okay, I'll behave!" Daiki showed him his stupid grin.

"I can't quite believe you..." Taiga sighed, but the other had already pulled him down for another kiss. Daiki's hands went lower, holding onto the redhead's waist before settling down on the small of his back. Brave (and reckless) as Daiki was, his fingers slipped under Taiga's waistband as they worked their way to his butt.

"H-hey, what are you-..." The redhead squawked when Daiki's index finger suddenly poked his asshole. The following slap on his face wasn't so pleasant as Taiga quickly backed off, staring at him with a mix between anger and embarrassment.

"W-what was that, you idiot?!" he growled, looking aside.

"An attempt to finger you?" Daiki boldly responded with his signature smirk, causing him to receive another hit.

"B-but... you can't just... I hate you!" the redhead huffed, being clearly on defense mood now as his eyelids fluttered nervously.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm just... completely addicted to you!" Daiki tried explaining himself, his arms closed around Taiga's back in fear that the other would really switch to the second bed. The redhead sighed through his nose.

"You only surprised me, but you definitely should've asked first," he looked at him warningly.

"But I just love you so much!"  
Taiga sighed again, this time with a small smile on his face.

"You're lucky that you're so cute..."

"Can I now?"

"What?"

"You said all I have to do is ask you!" Daiki grinned at him.

"No. It definitely wasn't meant that way," his boyfriend scowled. The other inhaled deeply before placing his hands on the redhead's cheek.

"Taiga. I love you really, really much and you're making me totally crazy! As much as I enjoy kissing and cuddling you, I can't help but want... more... Like, I want to... be even closer to you, a-and I want us to be real lovers, you know?" he stuttered, his blush reappearing.

"W-wait... Where does that come from?! I mean it's past eleven PM and we're at Tetsuya's house and... and..." Taiga also began stammering while his eyes looked around hectically.

"But don't you want to try it too?" Daiki asked him a bit calmer.

"Ah, uhm... No, I don't know! Well, I just heard that it hurts a lot and... But if it's you, I... Maybe... Yes...?" He looked at him insecurely.

"N-not now, though, we can't! It would be weird and we just can't and no!!" the redhead quickly added.

"Calm down, Tiger, we'll take it slow," Daiki laughed at his kind of ungainly behaviour.

"Just tell me when you're ready." He shortly kissed the other's forehead.

"O-okay... We should sleep now!" Taiga grumbled awkwardly.

"Not just a tiny handjob?" Daiki sighed yearningly.

"Sleep!"

"Fine, tomorrow it is then," he smirked.

"In your dreams."

"Oh, you know, you're quite often the protagonist of my dreams. My wet dreams of course..."

"Dear God, please tell me why I had to fall in love with this perverted being called Daiki Ahomine."

Daiki laughed, hugging the other to make him lay down again. The redhead grunted something similar to _I'll castrate you if you try something weird again..._

"Then at least cuddle me for the last time," he sighed a bit disappointed.

"It's not the last time, you idiot," Taiga murmured, nuzzling his face into Daiki's chest.

"But I want to hug you every night!"

"I know, me too..." the redhead hummed, yawning while absently stroking Daiki's sides. The latter one watched how the redhead closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep.

"Uh... the light is still on..."

"Ugh, fuck!" His eyes snapped open again to glare at the lightning source.

"Well, I can't move, so..."

Taiga groaned loudly, heaving himself up. Instead of standing up, he reached for the light switch with his arm, but he wasn't able to touch it.

"Damnit," he growled, stretching himself further, accidently squishing Daiki under him when finally turning the light off. With the darkness surrounding them, a wave of tiredness washed over Daiki, causing him to yawn while embracing his boyfriend. He just couldn't get it out of his head that this was their last night together. Fuck it, he was unable to sleep.

"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" Taiga sighed after fifteen minutes, sounding tired.

"Why aren't _you_ sleeping yet?" Daiki asked back.

"Your freaking heartbeat keeps me awake."

"Well, you're hot, so no wonder my heart's beating crazy. Also, I don't want to fall asleep!"

"Why not..." Taiga murmured, his voice being a low rumbling.

"If I'd fall asleep, I can't feel you in my arms anymore, so I'm staying awake until we have to stand up!" he explained with all the seriousness he's got.

"You're stupid," the redhead chuckled tiredly.

"No, I just want to hold you as long as I can!" Daiki remained stubborn.

"Good luck with that," his boyfriend hummed in amusement.

The next morning both of them woke up too late, getting lectured by Satsuki because they still had to pack their clothes. Daiki of course denied that he'd slept at all, and considering the bags under his eyes, Taiga at least believed him that he'd stayed awake for maybe two more hours.

He was actually a bit depressed now that their last night was over, but Daiki hoped things were gonna work themselves out at Hogwarts. He'd definitely make sure to get into his boyfriend's pants soon. Daiki's short love life should go on after all...


	28. Sexual frustration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm late ^^°  
> Now that Christmas is near, my teachers have decided to be extra mean and I'm buried under a pile of class tests...  
> It was Friday and I only had 300 hundred words of this chapter... xD  
> But don't worry, I keep up one chapter per week! ;)

The first school day was a Wednesday, causing the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws of the sixth grade to gather in the Charms classroom. Like always the students rather liked to talk about the Yule Ball than concentrating on their task which was to summon a water jet out of their wands. Although everyone was excited for the ball, Daiki wasn't exactly looking forward to it. It wasn't because he couldn't dance, hell, he really wanted to try dancing with Taiga, but what would everyone else say to that?

Normally it didn't matter what people were thinking about him, but it bothered him that they would judge Taiga too. Many students already avoided him, some of them doing so because of the rumors, others because they knew the rumors were true.

So what if they saw them dancing together at the Yule Ball? Daiki had the feeling it would only cause them more problems than they already had. No one, absolutely no one would expect him to have Taiga as his partner. It almost was like as if they'd be coming out to Hogwarts, at least most students would assume that there was something more than friendship between them when the great Daiki Aomine didn't ask a girl to dance with him.

Shit, at least they'd be gone for quite a while after the Yule Ball, on the way to save the wizarding world... But still, it angered him that he couldn't just be together with Taiga in public like every other couple. It seriously sucked.  
Daiki's thoughts suddenly got interrupted by a loud splash of water that hit the person next to him, namely Midorima. Takao's cackling confirmed that it had been him who'd stolen Taiga's wand once again to use _Aguamenti_ _,_ the spell deciding like always to hit a certain green haired nerd.

"But Mr Takao! What are you doing?" Professor Flitwick shouted from his pile of books while Taiga was quick to get his wand back. Midorima just glared at his fellow, his expression saying: _You are so dead!_

Potions was a bit less spectacular, the only highlight being Wakamatsu who blew up his boiler. Professor Slughorn was swirling around Daiki the whole time, making him compliments while trying to get some competent answers out of him. In the end Satsuki glared at him slightly offended when he brew the better potion, but he could only grin at her smugly.  
D.A.D.A. was always kind of difficult. Not only Snape decided to be a pain in the ass, but Haizaki also had seemed to plan on harassing Daiki right on the first day of school.

"Long time no see, Aomine. How are you and your dog? Or have you promoted him to your gay experiment or something?" he sneered, causing Daiki to press his lips together, trying to hold in a nasty reply that would definitely cause them point deduction for Gryffindor.

"Just shut your ugly mouth!" Satsuki jumped in for him, but Haizaki only laughed.

"Oh, hey, look, the Mudblood is talking to me, what a shame..."

"Say that again!" Daiki growled, approaching him threateningly.

"Sure, I said your big tits friend is a filthy Mudblood," he repeated, enjoying to provoke Daiki. He started to shake out of fury and would've loved to punch that idiot in the face until his nose was broken.

"Take that back, Haizaki, before I'm going to crush your skull!" he hissed, feeling how Satsuki pulled at his arm.

"Stop it, Dai-chan, he's not worth it. We'll only get into trouble!"

"Aww, yeah, Dai-chan, why don't you back off?" Haizaki mimicked her voice.

"Daiki, seriously, Snape is looking this way," Taiga said, though his voice sounded angry too.

"Oh, no, what now, Aomine? Are you gonna hurt me? I should be scared, right? But don't accidently kill me..." he laughed, causing Daiki to make one step forward.

"You..." he snarled, grabbing him by the collar. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Aomine. You're accompanying me to my office after this lesson."  
Shit, he could've puked by hearing Snape's cold voice. Haizaki grinned at him, knowing that he had won.

During D.A.D.A. Daiki couldn't concentrate properly. He had done nothing, but the ugly snake wanted him to detend. It was the absolute worst scenario possible, and that on their first day back.  
Daiki then noticed a small crumpled note rolling over his table, coming from Taiga's direction. To distract himself from thinking about Snape, he opened it, noticing that it wasn't bigger than his thumbnail. But on the note was a tiny heart, drawn by Taiga who was smiling at him from the desk next to him. Daiki briefly smiled back before stuffing the heart into his jeans pocket, his own heartbeat having fastened a bit. Taiga would watch out for him, he wouldn't let him alone.

After the lesson ended, an ugly feeling was growing in his gut while he followed Snape to his office in the dungeons. Taiga had squeezed his shoulder before he had to go, promising to pick him up as soon as detention was over. Daiki didn't know what Snape was going to make him do, probably working through the whole school book and writing an entire novel about dark arts.

"Sit down," Snape commanded while taking a seat himself behind his desk.

"Professor, I seriously don't know why I'm here. I mean, I haven't even touched Haizaki!" Daiki tried to defend himself, but got silenced by Snape's glare.

"Shut your big mouth, Aomine. We're here to talk about something else."  
Daiki definitely hadn't counted with that, so he just stared at Snape in surprise.

"I've heard something interesting from Mr Akashi. Is it true that you're in a relationship with Mr Kagami..." It didn't even sound like a question.

"What?!" Daiki shouted as an answer, inwardly cursing that damn Akashi.

"He told me how you referred to Mr Kagami as your _boyfriend,"_ Snape continued.

"That's not true, Akashi was lying!" Daiki denied, though he hated to have to hide his relationship with Taiga.

"Is that so. I saw you both at Mr Kuroko's house during the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, and you seem closer to him than to anyone else." Snape sounded like he didn't believe Daiki one word.

"We're friends," Daiki replied stubbornly.

"I hope so, though it would be better if you don't even know each other. A relationship between you and him is impossible, not just because you're both men, but also because Mr Kagami is a Half-breed. No one would accept that," Snape said.

"I see you're not shocked about him being a non-human, so you already knew it. Some would say your loyalty to him is admirable, others, including me, would say it's called stupidity that you're still sticking to him," he added.

"Was that everything?" Daiki gritted his teeth.

"I am trying to help you, Aomine. There are a lot of things you don't know and don't understand. Mr Kagami is dangerous and has to be treated with caution. Everything that could influence his emotions negatively can and will be the allowance for the Ministry to eliminate him."

"But... I'm not influencing him negatively!"

"Once the ministry was close to pay Hogwarts a visit, only Dumbledore held them off. That was the case after your infamous fight where you were close to killing Mr Kagami. You noticed his change the following weeks too, didn't you. In that state he could've hurt anyone and we're lucky he didn't do so."

"I know that already," Daiki hissed, Snape wasn't telling him anything new.

"You know nothing, Aomine."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know why your Boggart transformed into my mother."  
Snape's eyes widened for one second before he stared at Daiki coldly.

"If you can't explain me why that happened, you won't tell me how to treat Taiga," he said boldly, standing up from his seat. Although he knew this probably had consequences, he stood up and approached the door. He was done here. Daiki didn't know if he'd imagined it or not, but he'd heard Snape mumbling: "Be careful..." when opening the door, but it didn't sound like a threat at all. Daiki frowned, exiting the office.

"Hey," Taiga greeted him, having waited in front of the door.

"Hey," Daiki hummed, shortly taking the other's hand since no one was around.

"And? How was it?"

"Horrible, what did you expect? Although it was over relievingly quick," Daiki answered, feeling Taiga's thumb stroking his own. He wouldn't tell him what Snape had said. An insecure Taiga was the last thing he needed...

Unfortunately, holding hands that moment was the last display of affection for the next few hours. Everyone seemed to look at Daiki everywhere, he and Taiga weren't able to get one bit of peace.  
They visited Hagrid in the evening, and since it was so cold and not many people were outside anymore, no one noticed Daiki shoving his hand into the pocket of Taiga's jacket, hiding their linked hands.  
Of course the redhead was the only one drinking Hagrid's awful tea and also the only one who ate his cookies. At least they managed to let it seem like they all were eating.

"Hey, Hagrid, can we see Featherwing?" Satsuki asked after they'd talked about their upcoming quidditch match against Hufflepuff.

"Oh, uhm... I'm not sure. I think Tetsuya can visit him, but Featherwing is a bit sensitive the last time. It's nice of you that you want to see him, though. I bet he'll be happy to hear that he's got friends," Hagrid answered, smiling at the four widely.  
Tetsuya looked a bit horrified now that he had to visit the Griffin alone...  
Daiki only hoped their plan would work and Tetsuya could fly Featherwing at the end of December to carry them to Durmstrang.

While Hagrid showed Tetsuya the way to the paddocks, Satsuki, Daiki and Taiga went back to the castle. It was a bit foggy outside and the sun had already set. Hogwarts' lights were glowing brightly in front of them, promising warmth inside of the castle. No one was outside anymore, so Daiki wrapped his arm around Taiga's waist while they were walking, the redhead doing the same. With grins on their faces, they let Satsuki walk ahead of them and briefly came to a halt to kiss each other. Including the fact that both their noses were running and that their lips were cold and chapped from the weather, it wasn't exactly the best kiss, but at least it was a kiss. Taiga placed his hands on Daiki's cheeks, rubbing them to get him a bit warmer.

"Come on guys, you can smooch inside too," Satsuki giggled when looking at her two friends.

"Not without everyone seeing us," Daiki sighed, hugging his boyfriend tightly. He was so freaking warm, he'd never let go of him again.

"Empty classrooms are all over the castle, you'll find a nice place where you can release your sexual frustration," she grinned.

"How do you know I'm sexually frustrated...?" Daiki squinted his eyes at Satsuki, pressing his face into Taiga's neck.

"Your eyes, Dai-chan, I know that look! You totally want to do him!"

"W-what?" Taiga's entire face was red, and not just because of the cold.

"That shouldn't be a surprise for you! You're hot, I'm hot, of course we're gonna do it... soon, I hope... I'm just waiting for the right scenario," Daiki threw in.

"How about the locker room after your quidditch game? You just wait until everyone has left," Satsuki suggested.

"B-but that's in two days already!!" Taiga replied frightened.

"Satsuki, you're a genius!" Daiki said the same time.

"I know."

"Can't we wait a bit longer, I mean... it's too early for this and I... I'm not ready..." Taiga looked a bit helpless.

"Fiiine..." Daiki sighed, but not without a smile, the redhead's shyness was kind of cute after all.

"Well Dai-chan, seems like you have to ogle his ass a bit longer..." Satsuki laughed.

* * *

Tetsuya joined them later when they were in the common room, telling them about another flight with Featherwing and that he was sure he'd be able to direct him until the Yule Ball. After dinner they went to sleep, being tired after a long day. When Daiki laid down in his bed, he realized how much he missed Taiga beside him. He'd gotten so used to them sleeping in one bed and hugging each other when they'd wake up, that he wasn't able to fall asleep now.

Dormitories were shit. Daiki wanted to have a room for Taiga and him, where no one could see them. He turned around, ruffling the sheets, but the feeling of emptiness didn't vanish. Making a decision, Daiki stood up and walked over to Taiga's bed as quiet as he could, trying not to stumble in the dark. Feeling for the redhead's blanket, he pulled it up, silently climbing into the bed.

"Daiki, what are you doing?" Taiga whispered surprised, probably scared to wake up the others.

"Five minutes," he whispered back, searching for Taiga's body underneath the blanket and holding him close while entangling their legs. And there was the warmth he'd yearned for, the soft and smooth skin with strong muscles below...   
Daiki spooned him, his hands placed on Taiga's chest that was heaving with every deep breath. He could hear the redhead's heart beating as fast as his own when he rested his lips on his neck.

Five minutes developed into ten, ten minutes into twenty and twenty into half an hour. Taiga had already fallen asleep, his breathing even, his heartbeat having calmed down. When noticing that he was about to doze off too, Daiki buried his nose in Taiga's deep red hair, inhaling his scent the last time before he reluctantly let go of him, going back to his own cold bed. But with the feeling of Taiga in his arms still being present, Daiki finally was able to fall asleep.

* * *

He thought he was dreaming when he woke up the next day with a pair of lips on his own. This just couldn't be real. But it seemed like he really got kissed awake by Taiga who was smirking at him as soon as Daiki blinked.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty..." he joked. Daiki grumbled tiredly, already missing the softness of the kiss.

"Where... Where are all the others...?" he mumbled, still not completely awake.

"Down for breakfast. I wanted to go down too, to get you something since I didn't want to wake you up, but then Satsuki offered to bring us a few toasts later. She also told me to take care of you and that we should enjoy our alone time," Taiga laughed, the most beautiful sound Daiki had ever heard.

"How about some morning sex then?" he grinned, the perverted part of his brain being already activated. Taiga rolled his eyes while trying to hide his blush.

"You have a better idea?" Daiki then asked.

"Well, I thought about cuddling..."

"Naked?"

"Alright, I'm going to join the others in the Great Hall..." Taiga pretended to walk over to the door.

"Nooo!" Daiki leaped forward to close his arms around his chest.

"How much time do we have?"

"Thirty minutes," the redhead answered with a smile.

"Twenty until Satsuki brings us food."

"Then don't waste anymore time," Daiki grinned, yanking them back on his bed and settling down on top of Taiga.

"Daiki, what are you doing?" the latter one growled when Daiki was taking off his shirt, presenting his well trained torso.

"Making things more exciting," he answered, already pulling on Taiga's shirt too.

"Only kissing..." The redhead looked at him warningly.

"Only kissing," Daiki agreed with his stupid grin, quickly getting rid of the piece of clothing hiding Taiga's marvelous body. But before he could capture his boyfriend's lips in a perfect kiss, the other stopped him.

"Wait, we forgot about the bad breath again..." he groaned.

"Ugh... Hey, wait, the last time I was at Honeydukes, I got some sweet that makes your breath smell like sunshine. That's what the packaging says..." Daiki recalled, luckily remembering that he bought something useful.

"Okay... Uh, let's test them I guess...?" Taiga looked at him a bit unsure.

"No problem," Daiki smirked, stretching himself to open his drawer, of course not without grinding on Taiga when opening it. He unpacked one of the sweets before throwing it into his mouth. It tasted sugary, a bit like cherry or was it vanilla? Daiki wasn't sure, so he bent down to blow into Taiga's face. The latter one squinted his eyes, probably about to shout ew, but then he blinked surprised.

"It actually doesn't smell like something dead..." he stated.

"Right back, you idiot," Daiki glared at him playfully.

"Fine, so do I get one too?" Taiga asked.

"Nope. I have a better plan." The other grinned and lowered his head to kiss the redhead's lips. Unfortunately Taiga pushed him away to look at him with red cheeks.

"This is too embarrassing, we're not doing that!"

"Oh, please! Come on, I even said please!" Daiki tried it again with his puppy eyes.

"That expression is not working..." Taiga squinted his eyes at him.

"But we're sucking faces all time, so why not with a sweet?"

"Because it's... It's corny and embarrassing..." the redhead grumbled, causing Daiki to snort.

"Seriously? You're cute..." he laughed and with that he tried it once again, laying down on Taiga and placing his hands next to his head. Daiki smiled before their lips connected and after a bit of persistence from his side, the redhead gave in and opened his mouth, letting Daiki's tongue slide inside. He held in a moan when he felt the sweet being taken by Taiga's tongue when they parted.

"And? Isn't it kind of sexy?" Daiki smirked, burying his hands in Taiga's hair.

"Well... It's alright I guess...but still weird!" he muttered awkwardly.

"Alright, alright... uh, wait, did you just swallow it?!" Daiki stared at him slightly shocked when seeing Taiga's Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"Yeah, right before this would have evolved into a sick game of your perverted fantasy..."

"Pfff, you know there are a lot of sweets left? But honestly, you swallowed it just like that? Isn't it stuck in your food pipe right now?!" He was still a bit freaked out as he started to worry.

"Calm down, it wasn't that big..." Taiga sighed with a groan.

"Heh... I'm somehow excited to find out what it would feel like if you suck my dick then..." Knowing his redhead, Daiki quickly dodged the punch coming his way, pinning Taiga's arms down on the bed.

"You're stupid..." Taiga growled.

"Look who's talking," Daiki laughed and this time it was the redhead who pulled Daiki's head down to shut him up with a kiss. A particular long one as he noted, their tongues pushing back and forth. He shuddered in pleasure when Taiga's arms found their way around his back, holding onto the bare skin of Daiki's shoulder blades. His warm hands began stroking him, caressing his back muscles. And for the probably hundredth time already, Daiki felt how his blood was about to rush downwards. But Taiga's following action caught him even more on surprise...

"Wha-..." he squeaked and jolted when the redhead's hand slipped under the waistband of his underwear to squeeze his butt.

"Payback," Taiga grinned when Daiki had recovered from that rather bold movement, staring at his boyfriend with a red face.

"Oh, you..." Daiki chuckled, being a bit excited to discover that Taiga wasn't as passive as he tried to be most of the times. They kissed again while trying not to laugh, holding each other as close as possible, the feeling of their naked torsos touching was definitely the best.

"There's something I haven't paid attention to, yet..." Daiki suddenly grinned, placing his thumbs on Taiga's nipples before starting to twirl them between his fingers.

"Daiki, you... idiot!" the redhead growled despite the startled moan leaving his mouth.

"Ha, I knew they were sensitive!"  
Before Taiga could do anything against it, Daiki lowered his head to quickly swipe his tongue over one nipple. The redhead let out a surprised noise and pushed him away only half-heartedly.

"You're such a pervert, it's unbelievable!! You've woken up maybe ten minutes ago and you're already thinking with your dick!" he shouted flustered.

"But you know what, Tiger? I think there are two hard things in this room..." Daiki teased him, his hand ready to grab a certain lower part of Taiga's body.

"Nope, not happening! We said only kissing!" the redhead protested, causing the other to slump together while letting out a dying noise.

"But when?? It's so awful to have a boner and we can't do anything! You totally neglect my dick, what if it gets depressions because it's not allowed to experience fun?! Maybe it's even going to regress since I don't use it!!"

"You know there's nothing but shit coming out of your mouth right now?" Taiga deadpanned.

"I just want a freaking orgasm!!" Daiki yelled through the entire dorm.

"Jeez, not so loud, man..."

"Taigaaaa, I need you! Please safe my dick's self-confidence..." He hugged him tightly, wrapping his legs around his redhead.

"Ugh, you... are lucky that I like you so much..." Taiga grumbled, sighing in defeat.

"And you're taking full responsibility if someone comes in..."

"Yesss!" Daiki threw his fist into the air, being full of life again. The _Yes_ quickly turned into a _Fuck_ when Satsuki entered the dorm right a second later.

"Hey, you two lovebirds! I got your breakfast," she smiled at them with red cheeks.

"Noooo! No, this can't be true! I'm missing such a rare chance!!" Daiki almost cried, intentionally falling from the bed and crashing on the ground as he pretended to be dead.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you, but the _I just want a freaking orgasm,_ could be heard through the whole Gryffindor common room," the girl giggled while handing Taiga two plates with a stack of toasts on top.

"The others come back in about two minutes, and you have ten minutes to eat before class starts," she informed them.

"Thanks," Taiga said, already stuffing his mouth.

"This is the worst! Satsuki, he just agreed to jerk me off and now everything is destroyed!!" Daiki groaned, his face still being connected to the floor.

"Well, seems like you have to learn how to be patient..."

"I don't _want_ to be patient!"  
Satsuki shook her head with a sigh before turning to Taiga.

"Hopefully you manage to raise him to a decent adult one day while taking care of this child. Dai-chan, you should be really thankful that he loves you!"

"Just let me die in peace..." said one groaned, letting himself get fed by Taiga who was handing him the toasts from the second plate.

Sexual frustration was a pain in the ass. But well, Daiki honestly preferred a real pain in the ass, although a pleasuring pain in the ass sounded even nicer to him.


	29. The Talk and other things causing a blood rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas in two days already!! So I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and have lots of fun :)  
> Hopefully you've got a lot of snow (unlike me... :'(  
> This chapter is finally about quidditch again and lots of stupidity from our idiots. And do I even have to warn for smut? ;)  
> (Please tell me when there are grammatical errors!)

"Thanks for your note yesterday," Daiki said after Herbology when they headed back to the castle.

"Huh? What note?" Taiga asked, furrowing his brows while munching on a few toasts he'd stuffed into his pockets when they hadn't had enough time to finish breakfast.

"Dude, you gave me a piece of paper with a heart on it and you don't remember??" Daiki sighed, dragging his hand across his face, knowing that he was slightly blushing.

"Ah, that one! W-well, I thought it'd cheer you up..." Taiga blushed too, causing Tetsuya and Satsuki to look at each other knowingly while watching out that no one else was listening to them.

"Y-you don't have to justify yourself, I just wanted to say thank you!" Daiki grumbled a bit embarrassed.

"Okay then... No problem I guess..." Taiga stuttered and the other rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Wouldn't have expected such a cute gesture from a manly man like you," Daiki teased him, bumping their shoulders.

"Shut up... I only felt sorry for your idiotic face!"

"Why are you always mean when you're embarrassed..." Daiki sighed, ruffling Taiga's hair. Satsuki suddenly cleared her throat.

"Today is gonna be the right time for _the talk,_ don't you think so too, Tetsuya?" she asked him with a mischievous grin.

"What for a talk? Do you mean our plan to go to Durmstrang?" Taiga blinked at her confused, causing Tetsuya to snort.

"No, Taiga, I mean the talk where parents explain their children what to do when they have someone they love reaaaallly much!" Satsuki explained as if talking to a small kid.

"Hey, but we're not your children just because you two are more mature than us..." Daiki threw in with a growl.

"Yeah, yeah Dai-chan, sure," Satsuki teased him.

During lunch time, Hyūga walked over to the four to inform them about a gathering of their quidditch team this evening. Their game against Hufflepuff was tomorrow already and they had to discuss a strategy on how to score against Murasakibara and Kise.  
While eating hot pumpkin soup, Daiki had to pat Taiga's back every five minutes because said one ate too fast like always, occasionally choking.

"You're such an idiot," Daiki sighed, slapping the other's back with a bit more force than needed.

"Taiga, you really should eat slower, it's unhealthy to gulp down everything at once!" Satsuki lectured him too.

"Sorry, I'm just... in a flow?" he tried to explain himself while filling his bowl for the fourth time already. Tetsuya gave him a funny look.

"We know you eat much, although that doesn't enlighten us how you manage to not get fat. But one day you'll get sick for sure," he said.

"I don't think so. I just like food, that's everything. And also, this amount of food is reasonable since I'm burning a lot of calories and stuff," Taiga denied with a shrug.

"Yeah, totally... I'm not eating half as much as you," Daiki sighed, shaking his head.

"You can have me as dessert, though," he added, whispering into Taiga's ear. The redhead blushed, almost dropping his spoon.

After another boring lesson of Care of Magical Creatures where they had to collect Flobberworms once again, Daiki almost wished that Hagrid would show them one of his ugly and murderous beasts, just to get a change. It had been funny to put some of the worms into Taiga's hood though, as he'd watched how the redhead had freaked out when they'd started crawling on his nape. Hagrid hadn't been as amused as he usually was when seeing the two throwing the Flobberworms at each other.

Teasing and annoying Taiga was the result of not being able to touch him, and Daiki already used every excuse to get to touch his hands, his face or his hair. He mostly clinged to him with his arm around his shoulder, putting on the _"Best Bros"_ look. So of course he wasn't amused when Satsuki and Tetsuya separated him and Taiga to have the _goddamn talk._ Daiki frowned when noticing that Satsuki who had dragged him into the boys' sleeping dorm was more excited about this than he was. Since no one else was inside the dorm, they were alone whilst Tetsuya had cornered Taiga in a secluded place of the common room.

"So Dai-chan, let's start right away! Do you want to be the top or the bottom?" the girl asked him with red cheeks.

"What?!" Daiki was taken aback by that direct question, squirming uncomfortably while sitting on his bed.

"Just tell me," she grinned.

"Why are we even doing this? Seriously, I totally know how this works! And why did you and Tetsu even have to talk with us individually?!" he groaned.

"We're doing this properly, Dai-chan, and I won't let you escape. I am your legal guardian at Hogwarts and with a teenager at your age, we have to go through this."

"You definitely are _not_ my legal guardian or whatever... And you're as old as me!" Daiki narrowed his eyes at her.

"Not mentally, so you're gonna listen to me and stop behaving like a twelve year old with a crush on Taiga, he already is your boyfriend! You just have to be... more discreet to finally get into his pants," she suggested, smirking at her friend. Daiki sighed.

"He's too scared anyway, I don't know if this will work. I mean, he already calls me a pervert and hits me every time I try something sexual!"

"Aww, Dai-chan, but remember that Taiga is such a cutie! He's new to intimate stuff, just like you, but you're a natural pervert... It's probably hard for him to keep up with you. You're a bit difficult after all," she grinned, patting his leg.

"Shut up, I'm the best boyfriend ever! And Taiga never had problems to keep up with me..."

"Dai-chan, we're not talking about quidditch!" Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"I know, we're talking about how I'm finally going to lose my virginity... If this will ever happen..." Daiki grumbled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find the right moment. Also, now you should tell me what you exactly want to do with your sweetie." Satsuki looked at him smugly.

"Ugh, don't call him that, he's not a girl, he's-..."

"Yeah, I know, soooo manly!" she snorted, causing the other to groan in annoyance.

"But Dai-chan, you've got the initiative, it's on you!" the girl added, grabbing his shoulders.

"What?"

"Do you want to stick it in or have it inside you?" Satsuki expressed herself more clearly.

"Wh-what?!?" Daiki blushed immensely.

"Come on, you dumbass. Where have you left your perverted brain cells?" she rolled her eyes.

"Well, I... Honestly, I don't care as long as I got to do it... with him..." Daiki avoided to look into her eyes.

"Alright, that's better! How far have you two gone until now?" Satsuki's expression changed into a serious one, as if analyzing Daiki's love life.

"We got off together... twice," he growled dissatisfied.

"And I once tried fingering him, but it only earned me a slap in the face..."

"I see. The next logical step would assumably be to suck each other's dicks," she nodded.

"Satsuki, this gets really embarrassing now, isn't that too much information??" Daiki tried to hide his flushed face.

"But Dai-chan, you're my best friend, together we're going through thick and thin!" Satsuki smiled at him with a grin that could outsmart the whole wizarding world.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you... You're weird," Daiki sighed.

"Not weirder than you. Now, back to our main problem! You two need protection!" A few seconds of silence filled the room.

"Why? Neither of us can get pregnant..." Daiki stated blankly.

"Wow, what knowledge the great Daiki Aomine possesses... But no, it's about safety! Condoms lower the chances of getting sick, that's why you're going to need them!"

"Nah, it's too tiresome to get them. We can't just ask someone to send them per owl, can we? Also, they're not really important..."

"Dai-chan, I'm serious!" Satsuki hit him on the head.

"You're also going to need lube," she added.

"Why? Doesn't it... just go in? I mean, you don't really need it, do you?" Daiki frowned at her.

"Do you know _anything_ about gay sex?!" Satsuki pulled up her brows, looking at him scoldingly.

"Well, I... I'm the spontaneous kind of guy, so either it's gonna work or not!" he tried to defend himself.

"Yeah, whoever that person was who said he _knows how this works_ a solid three minutes ago..."

"Oh, shut up, you ugly hag!" Daiki growled embarrassed.

"Don't you dare mess with me, Dai-chan... I can turn you into a frog right this moment," she threatened him.

"Pfff, and when Taiga kisses me I'm gonna be a handsome prince like I already am?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow with a smirk.

"I don't think he's going to kiss a slimy frog..." Satsuki fired back.

"Whatever, let's just forget this..." he grumbled, knowing that he had lost.

"Alright then, back to our original topic! Out of coincidence, I know that you can get condoms in Hogsmeade."

"What?! No way!!"

"It's true. That's going to be your job next weekend, buy condoms and _finally_ get into one bed, so hopefully the time of awkward pining will be over!" Satsuki squeezed his shoulder, telling him that she was totally serious. Daiki only stared at her a bit flabbergasted.

"I think you know what follows. Please be careful, don't get caught and don't force it. Got it?"

"Yeah...?" he agreed awkwardly.

"Alright! You're gonna figure everything else out on your own. Now go and get your tiger," Satsuki winked at him.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with them..." Daiki growled when he'd fetched Taiga in front of the Gryffindor common room. The latter one had almost stumbled over his own feet when following Daiki outside, his face being as red as a traffic light.

"Taiga? Are you listening?" He turned to his boyfriend with a frown, wondering why he wasn't responding. When Daiki looked at his face, he felt how his heart began fluttering in his chest. Although Taiga's face still looked like it was about to explode, his eyes were wide, a bit intimidated while trying to avoid Daiki's gaze which didn't really work. It was as if Taiga's eyes were drawn to him automatically. But the absolutely cutest were his quivering lips when blinking at Daiki shyly.

"Sorry?" he croaked helplessly. Daiki could've kissed him right on the spot.

"What the fuck did Tetsu tell you..." He narrowed his eyes.

"W-well... uh..."

"Don't tell me you just got enlightened by him concerning sexual education...?" Daiki furrowed his brows in amusement.

"Shut up, I need my time..." Taiga grumbled, turning on his defense mode. Despite that he awkwardly reached out to take a hold of Daiki's hand, but quickly let it go when spotting some students in the distance. Daiki grinned at that, daringly blowing a kiss on his temple.

"Daiki!!" the redhead protested, too scared that someone could possibly watch them.

"Let's go down and eat dinner. Also, we've deserved a break from Satsuki and Tetsu..." he laughed, lovingly ruffling Taiga's hair to tease him.

"You're an idiot," the other murmured, fiddling with the hem of Daiki's robe.

"A sexy idiot," Daiki smirked, continuing his way down the stairs with Taiga by his side.

After dinner their quidditch team met at the Gryffindor table to discuss a strategy. That kind of stuff absolutely wasn't Daiki's thing, he knew he was too dumb to remember any plays and formations they'd use tomorrow. He'd just do his own thing, and no one could be mad at him as long as he scored. With one glance at Taiga who had a normal face color again, he knew that he was the same. Daiki had to smile at the thought that the two of them would be the unstoppable duo on the court, scoring twice as much with their combos. He got excited when noticing that was their first official match together.  
Hyūga suddenly slammed his fists on the table, causing silence on an instant.

"Wakamatsu, shut up and Aomine, stop staring at Kagami and pay attention!" he growled, having a pen and a board with drawn quidditch positions in front of him which had probably something to do with their tactics. But although Hyūga threatened him to cut off his head when he'd continue to not listen, Daiki couldn't really concentrate on his words when he felt Taiga's hand touching his under the table. The redhead slowly took it into his own, linking their fingers with care as if they were something fragile.  
Damn, Daiki's heart shouldn't be so fast...

Taiga nervously smiled at him before focusing on Hyūga again who was shouting their strategies with his angry voice, not caring that people from the other tables could hear him too. What mattered to Daiki was the firework exploding inside him right now. It had been Taiga who'd initiated to hold Daiki's hand as if he'd made a decision.

"Aomine... Why the freaking hell are you smiling? Are you sick? Drunk? Both?" Hyūga scowled at him, everyone else gulping when seeing his immense glare.

"Well, that smile wasn't for you, so mind your own things." Daiki lazily cocked one eyebrow to look at him smugly, a brave move...

"If you weren't the fucking Daiki Aomine and wouldn't score all our points, I'd fucking throw you out of the team!!" Hyūga snapped, being easy to provoke.

"Junpei, calm down," Kiyoshi interfered, his soothing aura being present all of a sudden, causing the angry Megane to sit down again with a grumble. Kiyoshi continued to explain their procedure for tomorrow in a nicer tone. No one noticed Daiki and Taiga holding hands under the table, using their thumbs to stroke their partner's skin. Daiki would've loved to touch him more, to be closer to him, to lay his head on his shoulder. Later maybe, if they were lucky.

But unfortunately the chance to be alone wasn't given to them this evening, causing Daiki to lay down in his bed with a scowl. Just a small kiss would've satisfied him.  
Staring into the darkness, he considered walking over to Taiga's bed again when he suddenly heard a movement next to him. Feet tapping on the cold floor into Daiki's direction assured him that Taiga had the same idea. Although he was a clumsy idiot, he managed to get over to him without slipping on the many clothes around Daiki's bed, joining him under the blanket without making a noise.

"Hey," Taiga whispered as quiet as possible, and Daiki could almost hear his smile as the redhead snuggled into him.

"Oh hey, you aren't possibly sacrificing your precious sleeping time for me?" Daiki grinned back, winding his arms around Taiga's back.

"Shhh, don't talk so much. And I'd do everything for you..." It sounded like he was pouting right now.

"Yeah, yeah," Daiki chuckled, kissing the redhead's nose. Taiga tightened his arms around him as he searched Daiki's lips with his own. The bed creaked when they crossed their legs and Daiki begged that none of the others were awake. But the feeling of excitement was great when they were kissing silently, hugging each other under the blanket. Their lips weren't moving, not daring to make a sound, just the touch was enough for them.

"I love you," Daiki whispered, softly kissing Taiga's ear.

"I love you too," Taiga laughed quietly when Daiki's breath tickled his skin. They were silent after that, both of them closing their eyes with a smile. Daiki nuzzled his head into Taiga's chest, letting the other fondle the hair on his nape. He fell asleep the same minute.

* * *

Daiki woke up in the middle of the night when hearing the room of their dorm being closed. He noticed that Taiga wasn't laying beside him anymore, having walked back into his own bed. Or was it him who'd left and closed the door? Looking over to the redhead's bed, he squinted his eyes, trying to see something in the dark, but it was useless. Daiki was too tired to stand up and turn on the light which would cause the others to wake up too, and he wasn't eager to deal with an angry Wakamatsu. Maybe it wasn't even Taiga who'd exited the dorm. Maybe it was just Furihata who wanted to go to the toilet. Right, the Chihuahua was probably too scared to use the dark bathroom in the dorm and had opted for the one in the common room instead. With that, Daiki was able to fall asleep again.

Unfortunately it wasn't a pair of lips bringing him back awake the next morning, but several slaps on his cheeks.

"Dai-chan, you're late!! Transfiguration starts in half an hour. If you want to eat breakfast, you have to hurry!"

"Nooo," Daiki groaned sleepily, yawning loudly. With a glance to the side, he watched how Tetsuya was penetrating Taiga who was in the same state as him.

Daiki stayed tired the entire day and he would've definitely fallen asleep during Transfiguration if it hadn't been for the fact that he was pretty much excited about their quidditch game. To be honest, he was looking more forward to what would happen afterwards...  
Daiki already had the perfect plan. After the match he and Taiga would play a bit one-on-one until their team was done in the locker room. And then it would be Daiki's time to strike, or to say it differently; He'd make sure to shower with Taiga together.

"Stop smiling, you look dumb," the redhead snorted next to him, packing his stuff as the lesson had just ended.

"Wow, thanks," Daiki huffed, lightly jabbing the other's side.

"No, seriously, your perverted expression gives me the creeps!"

"Oh no, is that so? Aww, poor Taiga..." Daiki mocked him, patting his shoulder.

"Shut up! And... some of your smiles even look nice..."

"What a compliment!" he laughed, standing up to leave the classroom, seeing Satsuki winking at him.

"I mean it!" Taiga shouted after him.

"I know, Tiger," Daiki smirked.

Half an hour before the match, Gryffindor's team gathered in the locker rooms to change into their quidditch uniforms. Although the atmosphere was slightly tense, most of the players were chatting happily, knowing that they were prepared to face off Kise and Murasakibara. The whole time Daiki had problems to not look to his left side where Taiga was currently in his underwear while having troubles to pull on the quidditch shorts that seemed at least two seizes too small for him. Daiki watched how he laughed with Furihata who had the exact same problem, with the difference that his was too big. After they'd exchanged the shorts, Daiki threw his arm around Taiga's shoulder to get his attention, bragging about how they'd crush those silly Hufflepuffs on their own.

They were greeted with an insane amount of cheering when entering the court, their names being announced before Hufflepuff approached them from the other side. It was the only team where Daiki almost knew none of the players except Kise and Murasakibara, he just was too lazy to remember the names of those who weren't worth playing in his eyes. Next to him Taiga was looking around nervously, being excited about his first official game at Hogwarts.

"This is so amazing," he whispered, his mouth hanging open when looking at the high spectator stands.

"It'll get even better. Just wait until the Quaffle gets thrown into the air!" Wakamatsu forcefully patted Taiga's back, laughing loudly. A shrill sound from Madam Hooch's whistle told them to mount their broomsticks and take off the ground. As soon as the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the Golden Snitch were released from their case, the game started. Turning to Tetsuya, Daiki threw him a look that said _"Don't you dare catch the Snitch too fast, I want to have fun too."_ Tetsuya rolled his eyes at that before concentrating on the opponent's Seeker.  
Of course Daiki was the first one to get the Quaffle, immediately making his way through the other three Chasers and scoring; just like that.

"Aominecchi, wait! That wasn't fair!" he heard Kise whining behind him while Murasakibara seemed to just wake up now, being caught on surprise with Daiki's quick attack.

"Nice one, Daiki!" Taiga high-fived him when he came back to play defense.

"If your going to say that every time I score, your voice will be gone soon," Daiki cocked one eyebrow, grinning at him smugly.

"Alright, Aominecchi, you should focus on me right now!" Kise shouted while trying to find a way around him, the Quaffle tucked under his arm.

"Oh yeah?" he sneered, seeing Wakamatsu closing in out of the corner of his eye, but the Quaffle was already theirs, since no one had noticed Taiga approaching Kise from behind and making a steal. The audience cheered when Taiga whirled through Hufflepuffs' players and reached the three rings in no time. Murasakibara was prepared this time. Daiki saw in his eyes that he'd definitely catch the Quaffle, whatever Taiga was planning on doing. But the redhead just grinned, dropping it to let it fall into Wakamatsu's arms who was staring at it with an unbelieving expression. He was in a good position though, so he threw the Quaffle and scored another ten points.

"Oh my God!! Yessss!!! Yesssssss!!!" he roared, flying over to Taiga to ruffle his hair in his hyperactivity.

"I scored!!! I just freaking scored!! I got a pass!! Fuck, yesss!!!" Wakamatsu yelled into the audience, his voice being louder than the one of the announcer. Daiki rolled his eyes in annoyance. Too bad that Taiga was too nice to not pass to Wakamatsu.  
The game continued after the latter one's outburst, and Daiki made sure it was him who'd score the next few times.

Inbetween the game Hyūga started yelling at him that he wasn't following their strategy, but he couldn't care less. But suddenly the match took a turn, Murasakibara being even more focused and Kise succeeded in copying Daiki's movements. Adding to that was the moment when Taiga passed the Quaffle to Wakamatsu who accidently dropped it and it was immediately being stolen by another Hufflepuff Chaser. Daiki's tactic to do everything on his own also wasn't working anymore, causing him to bite his lip in frustration. Hufflepuff scored another time, their points on the score board increasing rapidly.

"Daiki!" Taiga flew over to him, the Quaffle in his arm for their next attack.

"Don't you think now is our time to win?" the redhead grinned at him.

"What do you mean... Kiyoshi is just too weak as a Keeper..." Daiki grumbled.

"Well, I think Kise looks a bit tired, and I haven't done much until now. So either we're forming a combo now or you watch how I score for Gryffindor!" With that Taiga sped up, bringing out the full potential of his Thunderbolt.

"Show me what you got, Tiger," Daiki smiled to himself as he accelerated too, to see what the redhead was going to do.

"And what is that! Taiga Kagami just burst through the clouds with his Thunderbolt VII! What's he up to?!" the stadium announcer shouted while Daiki was staring with wide eyes after Taiga who'd suddenly pulled his broomstick up and raced perpendicularly into the sky like an arrow with no one being able to follow him. The whole stadium was silent for a while when Taiga vanished for a few seconds. And out of nowhere he came back, being directly in front of the rings.

"Impressive! I've never seen anyone doing such a risky nosedive with the speed of a comet! Seriously, when is this dude going to slow down? He won't be able to score at this speed! Will he crash and- No! Hell, I can't believe it!!" the announcer freaked out when Taiga hauled the Quaffle into the left ring, pulling his broomstick up right before connecting with the ground. Daiki's heart had skipped a beat that moment, it had really looked like Taiga would crash. But instead he'd scored the most impressing ten points of the game, drowning in loud cheering right now.

"What an insane move! Was that the infamous Meteor Jam?! I'd almost like to give him twenty points for this one!!" the stadium announcer roared while Taiga was flying back to his teammates.

"Oh my God, that was awesome!! Can you do that again??" Wakamatsu laughed, squeezing Taiga's shoulder.

"Yeah, that was so cool!" Furihata added.

"Well, it makes you feel a bit dizzy..." the redhead replied happily, turning around to smile at Daiki widely as if wanting to get praised.

"Crazy move, man!" He patted Taiga's shoulder proudly, the other grinning at him with red cheeks, his hair being completely disheveled.

"How about you join me now?" Taiga asked, looking into Daiki's eyes.

"Hell, yes!"  
And he did. Hufflepuff suddenly seemed to have no chance as Daiki and Taiga got into their game, passing the Quaffle to each other from crazy positions, faking out and overtaking the opponent completely. Murasakibara had a breakdown due to his frustration at some point and Kise tired down too. The point gap widened and when Tetsuya also caught the Snitch, it was over for Hufflepuff.

The Gryffindors in the audience started roaring and so did the team. Daiki couldn't help but press a kiss to Taiga's temple when they threw their fists into the air in victory. But no one took it for something more than friendship after having won such a fantastic game.

"Why haven't you guys done your hellish combo right from the beginning?!" Hyūga shouted at them when they high-fived the others, the captain hitting them on the heads.

"Junpei, we won! Don't be mean to them!" Kiyoshi laughed happily, crushing his aggressive friend in a hug. On the other side of the court, Kise was crying a river while Murasakibara was pouting angrily.

"You guys are our heroes!" Furihata cheered when high-fiving Daiki and Taiga. Hyūga then hold his fist in the middle of them, waiting for the others to join him.

"GRYFFINDOOOOR..."

"FIGHT!!"

"Let's celebrate!!" Wakamatsu shouted with laughter, throwing his arms around Izuki and Furihata on their way back to the locker rooms.

"Aomine, Kagami, are you coming?" Hyūga asked when the two kept standing on the court.

"No, don't wait for us. We're going to play one-on-one," Daiki informed them, smirking at Taiga when Hyūga nodded and closed the door behind him.

"And you still think this is a good idea?" Taiga cleared his throat.

"Sure, man! After playing such a great game, you've deserved some pleasure," he grinned, teasingly pinching the redhead's nose before taking off with his broomstick.

"Oh, wait, I'll get you!!" Taiga yelled, following right behind.

"In your dreams!" Daiki stuck out his tongue and sped up. He knew he still was the fastest. They played for another forty-five minutes, trying out new moves and annoying each other before deciding to slowly go back.

"Bingo!" Daiki grinned when entering the empty locker room. Not a second after Taiga had closed the door behind him, Daiki was already kissing him hungrily.

"Ugh..." the redhead made a choking noise, pushing the other away.

"You're sweaty and you stink!" he scowled, causing Daiki to snort.

"As if you're better..."  
He was content to see that they weren't as uncomfortable around each other as they used to be when they undressed.

"And? Which shower?" Daiki was crossing his arms in front of his chest while Taiga was holding his towel in front of his body. Some things would never change...

"I don't care, you idiot. They're all the same, aren't they?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to use the shower Wakamatsu used..." Daiki joked, causing Taiga to laugh.

"What's it with you and him?" he asked, reluctantly hanging up his towel.

"Nothing... I just don't like it when he gets so close to you," Daiki admitted, turning on a random shower.

"Pff, you're not jealous, are you," Taiga snorted, starting to chuckle when the other said nothing.

"Seriously, Wakamatsu isn't the type to just fall in _love_ with a guy, you airhead!"

"Alright, then props to the guy who fell in love with a horny airhead... And now come over here, hot stuff," Daiki grinned as he eyed Taiga who was standing in front of him in all his (currently sweaty) glory. The redhead blushed when walking over to him, joining him under the hot shower. Daiki moaned when their naked bodies touched, letting his hands run down Taiga's back. The redhead captured his lips in a heated kiss, their tongues battling from the first second. Their moans got swallowed in each other's throat and soon both of them were hard, continuing to appreciate the other's body.

Daiki's hand was the first one to find its way down, starting to pump Taiga's dick in a fast rhythm. The redhead moaned his name in surprise, panting on Daiki's shoulder while the other placed a hickey on Taiga's neck. The redhead started stroking Daiki's cock too, squeezing it every time a wave of pleasure hit him. Both of them moaned, their lips occasionally meeting for a sloppy kiss.

"H-hey..." Taiga whimpered when Daiki's hand had left his dick to settle down on his butt, his index finger sliding between his ass cheeks.

"Trust me," Daiki mumbled into his ear, licking it before carefully starting to press his fingertip on the redhead's pulsing hole. Taiga wheezed, burying his face in Daiki's neck, but he didn't tell him to stop. Being more confident, Daiki slowly rubbed it, his fingers being slick with shower gel. Taiga whimpered again and tightened his grip around Daiki when the latter one pushed the tip of his index finger inside him.

"Are you alright?" Daiki asked with a moan, carefully wriggling his finger inside the redhead.

"I... I don't know..." Taiga exhaled, his body being completely tense. Daiki dared to push deeper inside him, just to earn a pained noise from his boyfriend.

"It hurts..."   
Daiki pulled his finger out, noticing that Taiga's dick had gone limp.

"I'm sorry," he tried comforting him by wrapping his arms around him while Taiga slowly started to relax again.

"Shhh, I'm sorry," Daiki whispered again, kissing the other's forehead.

"You okay?" he asked and Taiga nodded, closing his eyes to kiss him again. It didn't last long until he was erected again, letting his hands slide over Daiki's wet chest. The latter one was rubbing the tip of Taiga's dick to stimulate him. He quickly left his boyfriend's lips to lick his way down his chest, sucking a nipple into his mouth.

"D-Daiki..." the redhead moaned.

"Can... Can you turn around?" Daiki panted, fastening the movement of his hand around Taiga's cock. His boyfriend did as he said, his back being now pressed to Daiki's front. The latter one let his hands wander lower to take Taiga's balls between his fingers, gently squeezing them. The redhead gasped, moaning as loud as Daiki when his dick slipped between Taiga's ass cheeks. He started thrusting between them, the friction making him shout his boyfriend's name while he continued on pumping the other's cock. Daiki was sure that this was the closest to what real sex must feel.

He watched how his erection slid in and out, creating a wet slapping noise, but he still wished he'd be inside Taiga. Their movements became harsher and more uncontrollable as they were close to climaxing.

"Taiga, I... Fuck," Daiki moaned a last time before cumming between Taiga's legs. The redhead shouted his name too before shooting his sperm into Daiki's hand and on the floor. Riding out his orgasm, Daiki grinded on his boyfriend's ass before wheezing exhausted.

"Shit..." Taiga panted, trying to calm down.

"That was awesome."

"I know, right? I really enjoy doing this with you..." Daiki smirked, kissing his nape.

"M-me too." Taiga looked at him slightly embarrassed when Daiki turned off the shower. After drying (and slapping) each other with their towels, a question he didn't really dare to ask was buzzing through Daiki's head when they got dressed in their normal clothes again. But living after the principle _Now or Never,_ he turned to Taiga who was currently pulling on his trousers.

"Can I..." he started his sentence.

"Yeah?" Taiga said, his cheeks still being red from their former activity.

"Can I suck your dick?" Daiki asked boldly, his face feeling hot all of a sudden.

"Uh... W-what?" the redhead stuttered.

"You heard me..." Daiki pouted.

"I mean, I'm sorry that it hurt earlier, so I thought you might like it when I... you know..."

"N-no, it's okay, you don't have to do it!" Taiga refused.

"But I want to..." Daiki murmured.

"Can I...?"

"O-okay..." Taiga hesitantly agreed, sitting down on the bench. Daiki kneeled down in front of him and pulled the redhead's trousers down again, being a bit nervous himself. Would he even be good at this? What if Taiga didn't like it? What if he didn't like it himself?

"Could you stand up, so uh... You can pull down your underwear?" Daiki cleared his throat.

"S-sure..." Taiga did as he said, quickly sitting down afterwards.

"You seem excited," Daiki grinned when seeing his boyfriend's erected dick, his joke somehow putting him at ease.

"Don't blame me for that..." the redhead muttered awkwardly.

"I am not," the other hummed, reaching out to start stroking the hard member. Now that he was so close to it, he could admire its color and shape even more. Daiki hesitantly closed in, his mouth now hovering over Taiga's cock. Could he do it?  
Making a decision, he placed his lips on the tip, hearing how a small noise escaped from the redhead. He retreated to stick out his tongue, letting it touch Taiga's dick for a short moment. Maybe this was better than he thought.

"S-Shit, Daiki!" the redhead moaned when the other suddenly closed his mouth around his tip, his tongue lapping his foreskin. It felt a bit weird for Daiki to have something warm and throbbing in his mouth, but it wasn't bad. He daringly shoved more of Taiga's cock into his mouth and it suddenly felt so full, he choked and quickly pulled back to cough.

"Fuck, Daiki, are you okay? We should stop!" Taiga grabbed his face concerned.

"No," Daiki croaked with a smile.

"I'm just getting the hang of it."   
Daiki started a new try, adjusting to Taiga's length this time while watching out that his teeth wouldn't scrape the sensitive skin. His boyfriend started moaning as soon as Daiki used his tongue, licking the underside of his dick. He got a bit more experimental after that, moving his head up and down while letting his tongue swirl around to lick Taiga's slit and the pulsating veins that were bulging underneath the hot skin. The redhead began panting above him, fisting Daiki's hair as he carefully thrusted inside his mouth.

Surprisingly Daiki enjoyed the whole situation too as he felt his dick getting hard in his pants. He reached down with one hand to pleasure himself while squeezing Taiga's thigh with the other one. The real fun started when Daiki began to suck hardly on his boyfriend's cock, hollowing his cheeks and adding a lot of spit to slick it up. He felt Taiga's precum on his tongue which didn't taste exactly bad, just the fact that it came from his boyfriend made Daiki wanting to swallow it.

"D-Daiki, I'm close..." the redhead moaned, trying to pull away from him, but Daiki wouldn't let him. It occured that Taiga somehow managed to pull his dick out the second he came, causing half of his cum to land in Daiki's mouth and the other half on his face.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!!" Taiga squeaked, hectically getting a towel to wipe Daiki's face.

"Hey, don't worry. I was looking sexy," he wiggled his eyebrows and swallowed his cum. Salty, but what had he expected?

"Y-you swallowed it?! Are you stupid? You can get sick and you could've just spit it out! You're such a dumbass!!" Taiga scolded him, burying his face in his hands.

"What a nice way to describe a person that sucked you off..." Daiki teasingly poked Taiga's limp dick, causing him to shriek.

"A-at least wash your mouth!!"

"Yeah, yeah, and you can wipe the floor. I came too after all," he smirked as he walked over to the sinks.

"You...! Ugh," Taiga groaned, getting a few paper towels after having pulled up his trousers. The two got all their stuff together afterwards, being ready to leave after destroying all proofs that could possible give away that two dudes had had sex in the shower. Still embarrassed and talking about dinner, they didn't notice how the door to the locker room was being opened.

"Well, what do we have here..."  
  



	30. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and enjoys holidays! ^^  
> This chapter is a stark contrast to the last one I'd say. Since this might be a trigger for some people, homophobia is going to be a big deal in this one.  
> Still, I hope you enjoy reading ;)

Daiki's eyes widened as he stared at the opened door in shock. And of all people it was Haizaki glaring at him with disgust in his eyes, Hanamiya and Seto right behind him.

"I seriously didn't know you can sink even lower than you already are, Aomine," Haizaki sneered at Daiki who was frozen just like Taiga.

"But what a coincidence, we heard some repulsing noises from outside and now look who's there..."

"Get fucking lost!" Daiki snarled, standing up to his full height.

"Why should I, now that I've got you two faggots here? Maybe I should tell the whole school that the great and famous Daiki Aomine is a slutty cocksucker!" Haizaki laughed disgustingly.

"Don't you dare call him that again!" Taiga scowled at the three who were blocking the exit.

"Oh look, Aomine, your sex toy is defending you!" Seto threw in with an ugly grin on his face.

"But seriously, what is this? The son of Voldemort's former right hand fucking the boy who lives?!" Hanamiya scoffed.

"Don't you think it's the other way around?" Seto laughed.

"No." Haizaki turned around to close the door behind them before staring at Daiki again. His eyes were more hateful than ever, a derogatory expression on his face.

"I'm sure it's our little Daiki who desperately wants a dick inside his ass..."

"If you don't fucking leave right now, I swear to God that I won't hold back!" Daiki yelled, his blood boiling as he pulled out his wand and directed it at Haizaki. But the latter one just laughed.

"How cute, are you threatening us? Why aren't you hiding behind your _boyfriend_ over there? But don't come too close, I really don't want to touch you. I hope you understand why," Haizaki continued to provoke him, causing Daiki to snap.

"Depulso!" The surprise still seen in Haizaki's eyes, he suddenly flew backwards, crashing into a wall.

"Daiki!" Taiga quickly pushed his arm down when the other was about to teach his enemy another lesson.

"You're only making it worse..." Haizaki was groaning in pain, coughing a few times before slowly standing up again.

"You're so done, Aomine! You won't leave this room until the floor is flooded with your blood!" he roared, lashing out with his wand at Daiki who fell to the ground, hitting his head on the edge of a bench. Hanamiya and Seto both flinched at the sudden violence, but pulled their wands out too.

"Fuck, Daiki!!" Taiga shouted, kneeling down next to his boyfriend, who felt dizzy from the impact.

"Come on, freak! Why don't you fight too?"  
The redhead quickly ducked down when Haizaki started firing at him.

"Protego!" he shouted, creating a shield around him and Daiki who picked himself up again.

"Why are you two being so useless?!" Haizaki yelled at Hanamiya and Seto who were a bit unsure.

"We'll get into trouble!" Hanamiya stated.

"Who cares?!" Haizaki roared, his eyes blazing with craziness, wanting nothing more than to see Daiki and Taiga in pain. He began throwing spells at them again, the other two reluctantly joining him.

"Shit..." Taiga cursed, his shield wasn't going to last any longer. They got pushed back into the shower room where they had more space.

"I won't let you escape!" Haizaki laughed when the shield broke. Without any shelter, they both got hit by the white flashes emerging from their enemys' wands, causing them to fly back too and painfully hitting the wall. Daiki landed on the ground with a groan, his head throbbing and his back hurting like hell. He looked over to Taiga who was the same.

"You should've died that night, Aomine!"

"Stupify!" Taiga coughed, causing a red flash to swish through the air, missing Hanamiya by one inch. Therefore Daiki got hit over and over again and he felt like he was inwardly burning. Taiga had his shield activated again, hurrying over to Daiki to protect him. Slowly recovering, Daiki picked up his wand, aiming at Seto who was in his angle. The spell hit its target and Seto yelled when he got locked in a Full Body-Bind and fell to the ground.

 _Two more to go,_ Daiki thought, but his vision was blurry. Unfortunately Taiga's shield failed again and Hanamiya managed to free Seto from the curse. Now that the redhead was standing in front of Daiki, he received all the damage. He screamed when his nose and ears suddenly started bleeding and Daiki couldn't take it any longer.

"You fucking bastards!" he yelled still laying on the wet floor of the shower room, starting to throw jinxes at them the way they did. He had to watch with horror how Taiga's body suddenly got thrown into the air by Haizaki's wand, colliding with the wall tiles. His head left a trail of blood behind as he fell to the ground, his eyes closed.

"No!!" Daiki cried, not really perceiving anything else than his boyfriend laying on the cold floor.

"Haizaki, this is enough! I'm serious!" Daiki noticed from the corner of his eye how Hanamiya grabbed Haizaki's shoulder to stop him, but the latter one pushed him away. Daiki started crawling towards Taiga, not even realizing anymore who was doing what. Pictures flashed in his mind. Pictures of Taiga laying in the bathroom, nearly a lake of blood around him while his eyes were wide opened and his body was shaking.

"No, no..." Daiki whimpered, the feeling of guilt that day made his heart ache. He suddenly got pulled up by a hand that hold him away from Taiga.

"You can visit your freak later in the hospital wing if you two even manage to get there. At least I'll make sure that you won't be able to ever do your gay shit again. If Voldemort was here, I'd gladly watch how he kills you. No one would be sad for a fag like you, Aomine..." Haizaki hissed, dropping him again. Daiki could swear he'd seen Taiga's eyelids fluttering and his fingers twitching.

"Haizaki, this is going too far..." Seto agreed with Hanamiya, but got silenced when Haizaki turned to him infuriated.

"I swear if you two bastards are leaving right now, I'm going to throw you out of the quidditch team!! Now back to you, Aomine..." He held his wand right in front of his nose, but Daiki couldn't get away from him. His own wand was laying too far away from him and so was Taiga's which was on the other end of the room by now. Daiki exhaled when noticing that the redhead was moving again, but that wouldn't spare him from what was following.

"Crucio!" The spell hit him directly and Daiki screamed in agony, feeling like as if a thousand knives had been stabbed into his body and someone was constantly twisting them in his flesh.  
Taiga must've felt this too when he'd been tortured by Voldemort in Azkaban. He'd probably had endured even more since a curse from Haizaki couldn't be compared to one from Voldemort.  
But everything Daiki could think about right now was the pain and how he heard himself screaming and crying.

"Haizaki, are you insane?!" Hanamiya interfered and the pain stopped from one moment to another when Haizaki got pulled away from him. Daiki was panting heavily while trying to keep his eyes open.

"Why are you getting into my way?! I'm just giving him what he deserves!!" Haizaki yelled angrily.

"Daiki...!" A shocked gasp made the three turn around to Taiga who was fully awake again, stumbling over to his boyfriend. Daiki couldn't really look at him because he wasn't able to turn his head as he suddenly began shivering. The redhead breathed shakily as he inspected Daiki's broken form before turning around. All his exhaustion seemed to vanish from one moment to another. Taiga's eyes darkened when he faced Haizaki and there wasn't anything that let someone assume that he'd almost been unconscious not a minute earlier...

"You..." Taiga growled lowly, standing with his back to Daiki. Said one could only imagine what his eyes looked like right now. Wide, blazing with fury and a certain amount of violence. Daiki knew he'd be scared if Taiga was looking at him with those eyes. He'd done so once, but right now, he did it for him.

"And what are you going to do without your magic wand...?" Haizaki mocked him, although from Daiki's view he also seemed a bit intimidated. At least Hanamiya and Seto had stepped backwards in caution.  
Taiga didn't answer him, instead he was clenching and unclenching his hands, his body being tense. He looked like he was desperately holding back to not jump Haizaki's throat right away.

"What are you doing, freak? Standing there forever? I could kill you right on the spot. I'm sure Aomine will cry a river for you. Sadly you won't be able to do so for him too..."

"Haizaki, stop it! Don't you see that something is... wrong..." Seto couldn't properly end his sentence due to Taiga who launched at Haizaki with a roar. Daiki was sure he was hallucinating, the redhead's speed was impossible. He and the other two could only watch how the redhead closed his hand around Haizaki's neck before hurling him away like he was weighing nothing. The Slytherin screamed in surprise, not having expected such a quick and powerful move as he hit the floor. Hanamiya and Seto were shakily pointing at Taiga with their wands, both looking like they'd prefer to run. They didn't dare to fire at him when he glared at them ferociously before concentrating on Haizaki again.

"Fuck... What the-..." said one coughed, but Taiga was already over him again, grabbing him by his throat to pick him up a second time. Strangled noises came out of Haizaki's mouth as he got lifted into the air, dropping his wand to grip onto Taiga's arm tightly.  
Daiki tried to stand up, to stop them, to just tell them to leave, but it was hard for him to move. His head was hurting from the impact on the bench, his back wasn't better and almost every cell in his body refused to work. He opened his mouth to shout something, but no sound left his lips.

"Don't you dare to hurt him ever again..." Taiga hissed with Haizaki gasping for air. The latter one started to sweat, his eyes were wide and glassy, his face pale.

"Tell me one reason why I shouldn't break your neck," he added, his voice threatening and deeper than usual. Haizaki's struggling slowly died down as he grew weaker with every passing second. Daiki made an attempt to stand up once again, but failed. Since Taiga wasn't seeing him, he started crawling over to him at a very slow pace, feeling completely powerless. But his bad feeling told him to hurry up. He knew that this wasn't his Taiga, it was the one from Azkaban, the one after they'd fought. And now that Snape had told him that the ministry had been close to eliminating him that time, he feared for him more than ever.

"I could break it right now... No, I _should_ break it, it would be so easy..." Taiga started mumbling, sounding eager as his grip seemed to tighten around Haizaki's throat, the latter one being close to black out.

"What... What is wrong with you, you freak?!" Hanamiya suddenly yelled, flinging a spell at the redhead which caused him to drop Haizaki.

"You... You're going to be the same as him!" Taiga snarled, his eyes flashing at Hanamiya now. By judging said one's scared look, he was probably regretting his choice to have helped Haizaki. But before Taiga could attack him too, a red flash hit him right on his chest, making him tumble and fall to the ground. Daiki's eyes widened when seeing Snape standing in the doorway, aiming at Taiga who wasn't moving anymore. One of his spells seemed to be enough to take him out as the redhead didn't stand up again.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?!"  
Daiki flinched when Snape shouted at them with his infuriated voice.

"Has anyone a serious injury?" he then asked, his eyes flicking between Haizaki and Daiki. None of them answered, Daiki still felt a bit dizzy while Haizaki was just opening his eyes again, starting to cough heavily.

"Whose blood is this?" Snape sounded more threatening than concerned.

"That's..." Daiki cleared his throat when finding his voice back.

"That's Taiga's, sir. I'd say those bas-... they injured him the most!" he croaked, slowly sitting up and getting closer to his redhead in worry.

"Oh yeah? Your fucking _boyfriend_ seemed a bit too healthy for what he did to Haizaki!" Seto threw in.

"Silence!" Snape looked seriously pissed off, frightening all four of them.

"Aomine, get away from him!" he demanded when Daiki had gotten over to Taiga, carefully reaching out for him.

"Why?! He's injured and-..."

"Didn't you understand me?!" Snape yelled, causing Daiki to flinch and reluctantly retreat.

"Fucking freak..." Haizaki murmured hoarsely as he tried to stand up, batting Hanamiya's hand away as he tried to help.

"He should be expelled from Hogwarts!!" he continued, his voice breaking as he started to shout, causing him to place a hand on his hurting throat.

"All of you should be expelled for this, Mr Haizaki! You still haven't told me what you three were going to do in a Gryffindor locker room!" Snape hissed at the Slytherins, turning his back to Daiki who used this as a chance to lift Taiga's head into his lap, the redhead still being unconscious.  
At least it seemed like Haizaki, Hanamiya and Seto were more in trouble than him and Taiga.

"150 points deduction for Slytherin and 100 for Gryffindor!" Snape suddenly whirled around.

"Aomine, are you fucking deaf?! I won't tell you another time to stay away from him!"

"But sir...!!"

"You're letting go now!!" Snape yelled, his voice echoing through the entire locker room. With a crease between his eyebrows Daiki did as he was told, although he was keeping the space between them as small as possible.

"You and Mr Kagami are getting into fights way too often! Both of you are going to detain for the rest of this year on _every_ weekend!"  
Daiki's jaw hit the ground. That was the unfairest thing in the world! He knew that Snape was an asshole, but that was another level of assholeyness. Daiki swore he saw Haizaki smirking in the background.

"Meanwhile you three will write a twelve pages essay about the house rules each," Snape added and Haizaki's grin fell.

"Aomine, your head is bleeding, you and Haizaki go to the hospital wing."

"Taiga's hurt even worse! H-he can't just stay here!" Daiki protested.

"I'll take care of him. And now go before I'm changing my mind and you can pack your stuff!"  
That scared them away, Seto and Hanamiya helping Haizaki to get out, accompanying him to the hospital wing. Daiki stood in front of the door uncertainly, not wanting to go without Taiga.

"Leave," Snape ordered, not even looking at him when approaching Taiga who looked like he was sleeping. Daiki gulped before deciding to speak up.

"Will... Will you report him to the ministry... sir?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. Snape didn't answer right away as he'd turned his back towards him, but it sounded like he was sighing through his nose.

"No. You should watch out, though. If he's starting to hurt a student again, I'll make sure that he'll be gone." Snape shortly turned around to look at him with one eye.

"But it really wasn't our fault! They just came in and-..."

"I don't want to hear any of that, Aomine!" he interrupted him angrily.

"And now leave before I send you back to the Dursleys and Mr Kagami to Azkaban!"

Daiki didn't head to the hospital wing as he shuffled through the corridor leading away from the locker rooms. He wasn't keen on seeing Haizaki again and he also didn't want to worry Madam Pomfrey. It was normal that he got stared at when walking through the castle, with the slight difference that the people weren't looking at his scar now, but at the wound on the back of his head. Unfortunately Akashi and Kise were both coming his way, but he ignored them as best as he could. The blonde shouted a concerned "Aominecchi, what happened?!" after him as he passed them while Akashi was just smiling at him creepily. Daiki shook his head and continued his way to the common room.

"And Dai-chan? How was it with-... Oh my God, what happened?" Satsuki covered her mouth with one hand, inspecting his inflamed eyes and the injury on his head.

"Haizaki..." he growled, not that eager to talk as he let himself fall down onto his favorite couch in front of the fireplace.

"What did he do and where's Taiga?" Tetsuya asked with a worried frown. Daiki decided to make it short.

"Haizaki and his lemmings caught us in the locker room, we had a spectacular fight, then Snape found us and now we're doomed. That bastard even refused to let Taiga go with me! Seriously, I mean he's unconscious now and I don't know what will happen to him!" he shouted despaired.

"Oh, Dai-chan!" Satsuki looked at him with pity, sitting down next to him. Daiki didn't like that look, it told him that he was weak, that he was a little boy that couldn't do anything on his own.

"I'm so sorry for you, that shouldn't have happened. You've both deserved better," Satsuki spoke softly and soothingly touched his shoulder, but that was pissing him off even more.

"Fuck off!" he snarled, pushing her away rudely.

"Daiki!" Tetsuya warned him, causing the other to stare at the floor and grit his teeth.

"I'm sorry... It's just... whenever I think this is going to be one of the best days in my life, it always turns into the worst one. Shit, am I cursed or what..." he laughed bitterly, although he felt like crying.

"Daiki..." He turned around by hearing that voice, immediately standing up. Taiga was standing a few meters away from them, looking at him somehow apologetic.

"Taiga, you're alright!" Satsuki exhaled relieved and Tetsuya smiled too.

"Daiki, I'm sorry-..." Before anyone could say anything else, Daiki had jumped up and hugged him tightly, inhaling his smell. Several students turned to them with a bewildered expression, but Daiki didn't retract his arms from Taiga's body.

"You scared me... in many ways," Daiki whispered, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-..."

"We have to talk," Daiki decided, pulling Taiga out of the crowd, but they still had every pair of eyes on them. Entering their dorm, they went inside the bathroom which was luckily abandoned for the moment.

"What happened back then!?" he asked Taiga with a serious face as soon as the others were out of reach.

"I... I don't know, I'm sorry," the redhead repeated himself, avoiding to look into Daiki's eyes.

"That's not explaining anything at all. I mean it when I say you scared me! You were looking like as if you really wanted to... to kill Haizaki! And it was so sudden..." Daiki frowned. Taiga finally looked at him, his eyes wide and he was shaking a bit, his voice hitching when he spoke.

"I just got angry, it wasn't my intention to... I don't know, I didn't want to... Daiki, are you breaking up with me?"  
Daiki was sure that Taiga would start to cry the next moment, so he quickly grabbed his hands, holding them between his own.

"No! God, no! Taiga, I love you! This was just a stupid fight that got out of control, you even were defending me most of the time and I'm more than grateful for that! You're meaning so much to me and I need you, you understand? I'd never let go of you!" he told him and brought Taiga's hands up to his lips, kissing them gently. The redhead looked at him baffled, his eyes still watery and he quickly averted his gaze again.

"Shhh, it's alright. Hey, Taiga, look at me. Come on, look at me. You had to endure so much pain in Azkaban, at Durmstrang, and even here where it was and still is my fault. It would be unnatural if all of this didn't leave any traces behind, so don't blame yourself. And I know that you're different, that you can't do anything against it and that it's not your fault. I understand you, Taiga, and I always will!" Daiki placed his hands on his cheeks, caressing them lovingly.

"Thank you, Daiki..." the redhead smiled at him weakly, but his smile widened the longer he felt Daiki's hands on his face.

"So I fell in love with the right person after all..."

"You recognized that just now?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow in amusement.

"No, it just confirmed it again," Taiga hummed, leaning his forehead against Daiki's.

"And now come a tiny bit closer, so I can kiss you before we have to go back or someone spots us," Daiki grinned, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders. Taiga closed his eyes before leaning in, their lips touching softly. Daiki opened his mouth to deepen their kiss, his tongue searching contact with Taiga's. The redhead had laid his hand on Daiki's cheek before closing his arms around his waist.

"We should stop," Taiga said when they shortly parted.

"Just a bit longer! After all that shit happening, I need it!" And their lips connected again until Daiki was fairly satisfied. He still tried to make it impossible for Taiga to walk out of the dorm again by continuing to cling onto him and placing kisses on his face.

* * *

"Kissed it good again?" Satsuki smirked at them as soon as Daiki and Taiga got into the common room again.

"Shut up..." Daiki grumbled.

"You two have your ways," Tetsuya sighed with a light smile.

"Sure. By the way, what did Snape tell you when I was gone?" Daiki turned to Taiga who sat down into an armchair.

"Oh, uhm... Surprisingly he healed me before sending me away. He warned me though and said that he thought I was mature enough to avoid situations where I could possibly lose control or something like that. He made it clear that he has his eyes on me..." Taiga hummed thoughtfully, staring at the ground.

"Even though I still don't know the details, Snape is right this time. You two have got into trouble enough for this year!" Satsuki scolded them.

"Hey, it wasn't even our fault! Those assholes attacked us practically out of nowhere!" Daiki defended himself.

"It's alright, Dai-chan, I know it wasn't your intention to fight them. I hope you had a good time before all of this at least..." she smiled at them.

"Couldn't have been better, right, Tiger?" Despite their fatal situation Daiki forced a smirk as he looked at Taiga.

"O-oh, yes, uh... It was... nice," he stuttered, his face going red from one second to another.

"What a cute word do describe an intimate make out session," Satsuki snorted, starting to laugh.

"Satsuki!! Lower your freaking voice!" Daiki shouted at her, looking around in panic, but relievingly it seemed like none of the other students had been listening to them.

"I hope you're excited for our trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow, Dai-chan," she whispered, winking at him.

"You mean I'm going to buy the-... Wait no, shit! That fucking snake forces us to detain for the rest of the fucking year!!" Daiki suddenly remembered with a dissatisfied groan, dropping his head onto the small table in front of them with a loud thump. That hadn't been exactly the best idea, now his headache was starting all over again, the wound on the back of his head beginning to throb painfully.

"Uh... Have I missed something?" Taiga frowned at them, leaning forward for the others to understand his whispering.

"Well, Daiki originally planned to buy condoms," Tetsuya stated blankly, blinking at him once.

"Wh-what?!" the redhead's face flushed even worse, causing him to shortly cover his face with his hands in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

"Fucking snake..." Daiki repeated with a growl, pressing his forehead onto the wooden surface.

"That's really a bad coincidence..." Satsuki sighed, patting Daiki's back.

"U-uhm... It's okay, I mean we're not even ready for that yet, so..." Taiga stuttered, looking at them nervously.

"Satsuki, can't you just buy them and bring them here?" Daiki sighed, ignoring the redhead.

"Sadly the shop is only showing up for those who need it, so that's not gonna work..."

"Ugh, I hate magic!" He banged his head on the table a second time.

"Dai-chan, stop hurting yourself! The injury on your head looks worse enough already. Let me take care of this." Satsuki got her wand from her pocket, ready to heal him.

"No! I want Taiga's healing spell!" Daiki refused, backing away from her which caused the girl to frown at him.

"Eh? But I'm pretty sure mine is better, no offense, Taiga..."

"Nope, yours always hurts a bit while Taiga's feels soft and comfortable!" he tried to explain.

"That's nonsense, Dai-chan, now get back here!" Satsuki rolled her eyes.

"No, it's not! Remember when I've broken my nose? It hurt for one whole week after you'd fixed it!"

"That's not true!"

"It totally is!"

"Well, that's gotta be love or something then," Tetsuya intervened while Taiga was following the discussion.

"But I love Dai-chan too!" Satsuki faked to wipe a tear away while Daiki stuck his tongue out at her.

"Now, are you going to let me die?" He then grinned at Taiga who was sitting down next to him with a shy smile.

"Always the dramatic one," Tetsuya rolled his eyes.

"Episkey," Taiga cleared his throat as he aimed at Daiki's wound. And just like in the Burrow a warm wave of air hugged his head, gathering at the spot where his skin had been opened. He felt a bit tired when it was over, having learned from Satsuki that his body consumed his energy when regenerating that quickly. Daiki would've loved to lean his head against Taiga's shoulder now to take a small nap.

"Dai-chan, you look a bit like as if you're on drugs," Satsuki arched one eyebrow.

"I practically am..." Daiki smirked, allowing himself to shortly nuzzle his face into Taiga's neck, his boyfriend jolting at the sudden affection in public.

"Whatever, before all of us are going to eat dinner, I'll just remind you that we're leaving Hogwarts in three weeks. We still haven't gotten any signs of the Pegasus yet, so maybe we'll have to use a few more broomsticks for transport. Unfortunately that will cause us to scratch out a few breaks since we'd be slower like that," Satsuki looked at them seriously.

"Ugh, now starting with that all of a sudden? Why don't we just leave earlier if we're going to be slower than planned?" Daiki groaned, taking Taiga's hand that no one could see from this angle.

"But the Yule Ball!" Satsuki looked at him with puppy eyes, causing the others to sigh.

"I didn't know I'd say that, but I'm actually more scared of detention with Snape," Taiga groaned.

"Agreed," Daiki grunted, letting his head fall back.

"Oh, well, good luck with that one," Tetsuya snorted.

"Don't worry, you probably won't die..." Satsuki started teasing them too.

"Probably!?" Taiga fell for it.

"Well, let's hope what is awaiting us in three weeks is not going to be worse..." Daiki hummed. Although those weeks were going to be hell with Snape and the Yule Ball, he should consider this time to rest before their real adventure would start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm skiing with my family in Austria, so there isn't going to be an update next weekend. But I can use some of the time to plan the last chapters ;)


	31. About Detention and Marriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone!  
> I don't know about you, but 2020 somehow sounds so future-like to me xD  
> I'm working on this fic for more than half a year now and originally planned this to be a one-shot. And now look what happened...  
> Have fun! ;)

The following night, Daiki silently stood up from his bed, his plan being to climb into Taiga's of course. But just by doing so, his head collided with someone else's.

"Ouch! Fucking shit!" he cursed, inhaling between his teeth as he held his hurting forehead. The groan from the other person confirmed that Taiga apparently had had the same idea as him.

"You idiot! What are you doing? Today is my turn!" Daiki hissed at him.

"O-oh, right, I forgot. I just wanted to... be with you," Taiga muttered, seemingly embarrassed.

"Well, that feeling is mutual, but now get back to your bed before someone actually wakes up," Daiki whispered, rolling his eyes which the other couldn't see in the dark, as well as the small smile appearing on his face. After the redhead had found his way back under the covers, Daiki joined him, wrapping his arms around him like every night. Taiga did so too in return, his lips grazing Daiki's forehead.

"If there's gonna be a bump tomorrow, it's all your fault!" he exclaimed, causing the redhead to chuckle and kiss his hair. Daiki hummed contently, normally he was the one showering Taiga with affection and placing kisses on his neck and face at every opportunity. But it was nice to get a response to that too, once in a while. He snuggled into the redhead, enjoying the warmth of his body as he closed his eyes. Both their hearts were beating as fast as always when they were close to each other and Daiki wondered if this would ever change.

He wished to stay with Taiga like that forever, his long arms around his body always made him feel safe. Daiki recalled their time in the locker room before Haizaki had found them. The redhead had been so sweet, being in one of the rare situations where his loudmouth was replaced by a cute and shy guy who was new to this kind of relationship. Daiki blushed when remembering their actions in the shower, how they'd both moaned and grinded onto each other. Then there'd been that awesome blowjob, at least he thought it had been awesome since Taiga had seemed to like it really much. And Daiki also thought that maybe this was a thing he could do more often. He wondered what it would feel like if Taiga was sucking his cock, though. The redhead would probably be too embarrassed, but still, just the mental image of it turned him on.

"Are you fucking serious..." Taiga suddenly growled, assumingly feeling that Daiki got a small problem in his lower regions from one moment to another.

"Uh, you're hot and I'm horny, can't help it..." Daiki shrugged with a smirk, teasingly rubbing his crotch against Taiga's.

"Go to the bathroom and don't even get the idea of doing something perverted," the redhead grunted tiredly, pushing his boyfriend away.

"You're no fun at all..." Daiki grumbled and reluctantly stood up, heading over to the bathroom while trying not to hit his feet in the dark. With a lot of cold water he solved his problem, hoping that his dick would survive the bad treatment and made his way back when his eyes flicked to the shower room. It was different from the one in the locker room, but it was enough to make him see Taiga on the floor again, his blood slowly flowing down the drain. Daiki shivered and quickly shook his head. He still felt so bad for using that horrible curse on Taiga which almost brought him to death. Daiki knew he'd never be able to get rid of the guilt and he was so lucky that the redhead hadn't turned his back on him.

This could all be different right now. The events could've also developed into an unrequited love from Daiki's side, with Taiga hating him for the rest of his life. He really didn't want to imagine that. To let go of his slightly depressing thoughts, he got back to Taiga, climbing under the covers as quick as he could before hugging the redhead tightly. And he felt better not a second later. Daiki didn't know what he'd do without him. He was the light in his heart after all, a bright and sincere light.

 _But is it always light?_ A tiny part of him dared to question. And since he couldn't lie to himself, he had to admit that he'd been scared today. It was unsettling that Haizaki was suddenly able to use the Cruciatus Curse which was forbidden by the Ministry of Magic. Then there'd been Taiga who just grabbed Haizaki with one hand and had been close to killing him.

Daiki hold the redhead closer to shake off the pictures in his mind. His inhuman speed and strength, when Taiga was angry, he seemed to not be able to hide it anymore. But Daiki knew he shouldn't judge him. He did it to protect him after all.  
 _Don't you dare hurting him again._

He knew that Taiga wasn't evil, not in the least. Even though he could've used all kinds of horrible spells against Haizaki, Hanamiya and Seto, he'd opted for defence to not hurt anyone else until he'd snapped. Daiki wondered what Taiga would be like after they'd leave Hogwarts to find the Time-Turner. He imagined that they wouldn't just make their way to Durmstrang without being attacked by Death Eaters. What if the redhead was going to change?

"Taiga...?" Daiki whispered, hoping that the other was still awake.

"Hmm..." Taiga rumbled tiredly, telling him that he paid attention.

"When a situation like that fight ever comes up again, stay with me, alright?" he hummed, reaching for the redhead's hand.

"Of course," Taiga responded, burying his nose in Daiki's hair.

"I'll try to be more careful from now on," he added.

"Thank you," Daiki exhaled.

"And Taiga?" Another question made its way into his mind.

"Hm?" The redhead started to lazily stroke his dark blue hair.

"Are you... able to use the Cruciatus Curse?" The hand on his head stopped moving.

"Be honest," Daiki said when the other wasn't responding.

"I... can do it, but I never used it. And I'm not planning on doing so. I think it's more important to protect the ones you love instead of harming the ones you hate. That's why I've been practicing _Protego_ a lot," Taiga muttered, and Daiki felt a weight being lifted from his chest.

"That's what I thought, I know you better than you think after all," Daiki whispered with a smile on his face that widened when Taiga's hand began to comb through his strands again.

"Yeah, probably. We should sleep now," the redhead yawned quietly.

"But I don't want to go back into my own bed..." Daiki protested with a low grumble.

"Either now or you'll have to wake up early in the morning and go back," Taiga grinned.

"What if I just hide under your blanket?" he suggested half-heartedly.

"Daiki..."

"Okay, okay, but I want to kiss you one last time before I'm going!"

"Go ahead."  
And even though it was dark, Daiki managed to plant his lips on Taiga's, letting them stay there, not wanting to make any noises.

"Night, idiot," Daiki whispered when reluctantly heading back to his own bed.

"Same to you. Let's just pray we'll survive detention with Snape tomorrow..."

* * *

They did not.  
During breakfast the next morning, Daiki already got a bad feeling when he and Taiga got an owl from Snape, telling them to meet him in his office in one hour. That the owl bit Daiki when he tried to shoo it away was another omen that couldn't be good...

"Good luck, we're sorry for you," Satsuki squeezed his and Taiga's shoulders reassuringly while throwing them pitying looks.

"It's really unfortunate you can't accompany us to Hogsmeade. We've already invited the others to discuss our plan farther. See you soon then, hopefully..." Tetsuya added with a blank face, seemingly trying to mock the two of them with his last sentence.

"Yeah, yeah, go and have fun while Taiga and I will rot in the dungeons," Daiki groaned, wrapping another tissue around his bleeding index finger.

"Ah, right, we should go too," Taiga cleared his throat, looking somehow uncomfortable. Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Didn't know you're that eager. But fine, I reckon Snape is making us detent for the next year too if we're going to be late." He stood up from his seat with a huff, stretching his tired body before flicking Taiga's nose with his finger, just to get that cute reaction from him.

Daiki's mood sunk with every step down to the dungeons and he tried to not make a face when seeing Snape opening the door to his office to let them in. He glared at the two coldly, and Daiki was almost sure the snake was about to scold them for being maybe thirty seconds too late.

"Before I'm giving you a few exercises..." Snape sat down, his eyes staring at Daiki. It sounded like he was going to shout at them, Daiki already knew that tone.

"You two are the _worst_ and most uncontrollable students I ever had the misfortune to teach! If I were the headmaster, both of you wouldn't be at Hogwarts right now! Especially you, Kagami! Aomine may have the advantage that he is the Chosen One, but you're only here because Dumbledore has decided to save you! I hope you haven't forgotten my words from yesterday or else the Ministry will come and get you!"   
Snape didn't look as angry as the day before, but the way his face was changing the color from white to red meant that he was still upset about it. When Daiki gazed at Taiga, he noticed that the latter one looked slightly scared. He would've grabbed his hand without hesitation, but he couldn't, not without risking another outburst from Snape.

"You're both going to write an essay about moonstone now, and you're only allowed to leave when you got five pages each. With every word spoken, I'll add a page," the professor then informed them coldly, waiting for them to take out lots of paper and their quills. Daiki had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. It was a freaking Saturday and Snape seemed to plan on watching them until they finished. Didn't the guy want any free time? He snorted at the thought that Snape didn't need any since he most likely had no friends.

"Concentration, Aomine."  
The next two hours were awful. Daiki managed to only write two pages about moonstone, his words repeating every few sentences and his handwriting getting uglier with every line. He once dared to groan loudly, immediately earning a death glare from Snape who was correcting some kind of class test where every third student seemed to have failed, going by the amount of words he marked with a cross.

After another ten minutes Daiki started sweating, the air wasn't the best at Hogwarts' basement, but at least he succeeded in writing three sentences without five minute breaks inbetween. That was until his workflow was being interrupted by fingers tapping on a wooden surface. With a glance to the side, he saw Taiga drumming with his fingers onto his desk while his other hand was clasping the quill tightly. A big spot of ink was growing on his paper as he pressed the quill's tip onto it.

"Mr Kagami, what is your fucking problem?!" Snape decided to question rather enraged.

"I... I need to go to the toilets, sir..." he responded, his eyes flicking around nervously.

"Not until you've finished."

"But-..."

"Six pages for both of you," Snape barked before the heavy silence fell again. Daiki watched with a frown how Taiga gulped before shakingly continuing to write his essay.  
His state only worsened, he became more restless with every minute, his legs and feet were moving under the table and he began to breathe faster.

"Seven pages."  
Taiga let out a strangled noise.

"Go."

"Wha-..."

"Go, before I'm changing my mind," Snape growled and Taiga was out of the door the next second. Daiki shook his head, how endearing of the redhead to leave him alone with Snape. He was worried about him though, what had caused Taiga's sudden restlessness? Did he really need to take a piss that badly or could it be something else?

"Put your quill away, Aomine, we are having a talk until Kagami returns from the Room of Requirement."  
Shit, seriously? Daiki's eyes widened by Snape's words. The Room of Requirement? He could've thought so.

"W-What do you know?!" Daiki asked boldly.

"What do _you_ know?" Snape stared at him blankly before continuing.

"Certainly not everything, but you're still in a relationship with him, even though you're struggling to solve all his riddles. Are you simply ignoring that he isn't like you, like me or everyone else at Hogwarts?" Those words pierced right through Daiki's heart. After their fight with Haizaki, Snape was now fully aware of the fact that he and Taiga were more than friends. And of course, how should it be different, he belonged to the majority who despised their relationship.

"I know him!" Daiki stared right into the other's eyes with a serious face.

"You do? What is he then?" Snape narrowed his eyes, causing Daiki to gulp.

"A Half... Vampire..." he muttered nervously. Now he had to wait for the confirmation.

"So you figured it out, I wouldn't have expected that from you. But now it's even more pitiable that you're in a relationship with him, although you know about his ancestry."

"There's nothing pitiable about it! He needs me and that's it! And it's nothing new that you're desperately trying to force us apart!!"   
Snape's scowl warned him to not shout at him anymore, he looked really pissed to be honest.

"The problem is that you made a big mistake, Aomine. The mistake to befriend and even open yourself for him. After everything he'd gone through, of course Kagami was going to look for friends and love first. And I assure you, Aomine, he would've accepted _anyone_ who'd behaved like you in front of him. You just happened to have interacted with him the most. It's too late now, though. As much as I'd love to make sure that you two never speak a word to each other again, you probably noticed too that Kagami has a very emotional personality. I hate to admit it, but we can't risk it to make you stop talking to him."

"Why are you telling me this..." Daiki hissed.

"It's a warning that you will have to keep this up with Kagami, until he decides to drop you."

"Why would he do so. I love him, and I'll repeat that as often as I want!"

"You almost killed him, Aomine. And I know you have kept the book with the spell you used on him that day. You won't be able to imagine your punishment if I ever happen to find it," Snape threatened him. Daiki shuddered, the situation made him feel more than uncomfortable.

"You know, Aomine, the name Kagami has been feared the decade before you were born. They were known for using black magic and murdering people without any reason. What makes you think _he_ is different from them, just because the name has been forgotten over the years now that the Ministry had managed to hunt down all his relatives?"

"No one can choose their parents! And he's proved a lot of times that he cares for others more than for himself!" Daiki growled.

"Your way of seeing the world is called naivety, Aomine. Don't lower your guard just because he smiles at you."  
Before Daiki could reply to that, the door to the office opened and Taiga rejoined them, looking uneasy as he was stared at when walking to his seat. Daiki shortly smiled at him and the redhead seemed to relax before they had to continue to write their seemingly endless essay. But Daiki couldn't concentrate anymore, Snape's words stuck to his mind like glue. He couldn't help, but glance at Taiga every few seconds, wondering what was happening in his head.

In the end Snape let them go with growling stomaches in the afternoon, telling them that they'd have to come again on Sunday to rewrite their texts if they were shit (which most likely was the case). The corridors were empty as they headed to the kitchens to get some food, most students being in Hogsmeade. They ate on a bench outside at the courtyard close to the belfry, huddled against each other to stay warm. Daiki only chose this place to be alone with Taiga, to hold his hand without someone seeing it, to steal kisses from time to time.

"It's... snowing," Taiga suddenly stated surprised, and it took Daiki a second to notice tiny white flakes falling down from the sky and sticking to the frozen grass.

"I'm looking forward to a snow fight," Daiki smirked, ruffling his hand through the redhead's hair.

"Yeah, me too," Taiga grinned at him and leant towards him to softly peck his lips. Daiki's heart jumped and he placed his hands on the other's cheeks to kiss him on the mouth, stroking the warm skin underneath his fingers. He then sighed.

"That's going to be an ugly Sunday tomorrow, I have the feeling Snape won't stop pestering us with freaking essays and stuff..." Daiki groaned.

"Agreed, he's the worst," Taiga grumbled.

"He wouldn't even let me go to the-..."

"Room of Requirement," Daiki interrupted him, causing the redhead to look at him with wide eyes.

"Snape told me, and I already suspected it," he continued and Taiga suddenly let go of him, biting his lip nervously.

"Hey." Daiki pulled him closer again, he shouldn't have started with that topic.

"You're obviously not ready to tell me, but that's okay. I know a lot more than you think. I just need to hear it from you one day."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I hope you'll tell me at least before we get married," Daiki grinned, rubbing the other's back.

"Get Married...?" Taiga stared at him startled.

"Of course, you idiot. I always assumed you'd like to marry me when we're adults. I want to spend my life with you after all, and I thought you were the same..." Daiki pouted embarrassed, facing another direction.

"W-well, I just haven't thought that far ahead... But I- Wait, was that a proposal??" Taiga grabbed his robe with big eyes.

"Y-yeah, I guess...? But I don't have any rings or stuff, so this was spontaneous and I know we're still too young and-..." Before Daiki could add another sentence, the redhead had already smashed his lips on Daiki's, holding him close while kissing him passionately. Daiki was a bit stunned at the sudden reaction, but couldn't hold back a smile as he kissed his boyfriend back.

"Of course I want to marry you, if that's okay. I mean, you're the great Daiki Aomine, who wouldn't want to marry you, so I'm... really happy that you chose me!" Taiga then blurted, having grabbed him by the shoulders.

"T-That's cool! After all, I... want to call you my husband one day..." Daiki cleared his throat, blushing like there was no tomorrow.

"M-me too! And we'll live together then, right?"

"Of course! We'll have a big house with a quidditch court just for ourselves! And I'll kiss you at least ten times every fucking day!!"  
Taiga chuckled at that.

"You're going to be the best husband in the world."

"I know, I'm already the best boyfriend," Daiki winked at him, causing the other to roll his eyes playfully.

"Sure you are. Can we... marry in summer?" Taiga asked with a flushed face.

"August!" Daiki stated.

"That's nice. My birthday's in August!" the redhead grinned.

"Seriously? Mine too! I can't believe we never told each other!"

"When is your birthday then?"

"The 31th of August. Yours?"

"The second," Taiga smiled.

"That's nice! It's gonna be our month then," Daiki laughed.

"Yeah. By the way, who are we going to invite?" The redhead looked at him excited.

"What? Invite? I thought we'd get married alone..." Daiki frowned.

"Uh... Isn't that kind of sad? Satsuki would kill us for sure if she won't get to plan our wedding, and Tetsuya would hate us forever," Taiga replied.

"Right, I forgot Satsuki. Okay, so we'll invite the two of them and maybe get married at the Burrow, there's enough space for everything."

"Sounds good, but I'd invite more people, you know?" Taiga expressed his thoughts.

"Who? We don't have that many friends..."

"Well, _you_ don't have that many friends," the redhead corrected him with a snort.

"But I thought we could invite our quidditch team and Kise, Murasakibara, Midorima and maybe Akashi, if he'd grow nicer," he added.

"What?! No, no, no! I'm sure they won't approve of us!" Daiki refused.

"How would you know?" Taiga sulked, causing the other to sigh.

"We'll see about it, alright?"

"Fine..." That being the last word said, Daiki closed in to kiss his boyfriend again after making sure that no other student had decided to go outside. He moaned when Taiga's tongue made its way into his mouth, licking and sucking on his own. Daiki pushed back, feeling how the kiss developed into a heated one. Unfortunately Taiga pulled away the next moment.

"We both know that this is going to end with a boner if we continue," he explained, pinching Daiki's cheek.

"You're boring... I was silently hoping for a blowjob out here," Daiki joked.

"You're an idiot... And we should go inside, it really gets cold," Taiga rolled his eyes with a grin, standing up from the bench.

"Taiga?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll tell me soon, right?" Daiki felt a bit uneasy at the following hesitation. The more surprised was he at the redhead's reaction.

"Sure. I promise!" he smiled, taking Daiki's hand when walking to the door that would lead them inside.

"Ladies first..." he smirked, holding the door open for Taiga. The latter one cocked one eyebrow before suddenly grabbing Daiki under the arms and lifting him up, effectively pushing him inside first while laughing at the other's confused yelp.

Sunday was an exact copy of Saturday, with the difference that Daiki knew probably more about moonstone than about quidditch by now. He and Taiga spent another five hours in Snape's office, having to correct the shit they'd written on the day before. Daiki was sure that Satsuki was going to scold him the amount of time he frowned angrily, he would've imagined his weekends differently. He was sure their friends were having a lot of fun in Hogsmeade right now, stuffing themselves with all kinds of sweets while drinking Butterbeer. They even missed a short quidditch training session initiated by Hyūga, but the captain had wanted to talk with him and Taiga in the evening since the team still didn't really know the circumstances of the disaster from Friday. Although Daiki wasn't looking forward to that, he would prefer it over those horrible hours of writing nonsense.

* * *

"So, Aomine, Kagami, it's not really a secret that you had an encounter with that bastard Haizaki after the match..." Hyūga cleared his throat as soon as the team had settled down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

"It wasn't our fault, alright? He just barged inside and attacked us, that's everything. And since Snape is an asshole, of course it was us getting detention!" Daiki growled, being done with this shit.

"But why would Haizaki do that all of a sudden? I mean, he's always been an ass towards you, but he never tried to seriously hurt you!" Wakamatsu threw in, chewing on a sandwich.

"How should we know, the dude is a psychopath," Taiga responded irritated.

"That means the two of you haven't done anything and all of this is just a big misunderstanding from Snape's side. I'm glad you weren't willing to fight," Kiyoshi smiled at them and Daiki had to narrow his eyes at the freaking calming aura the guy emitted.

"Yeah, whatever, just watch out nothing like that ever happens again... As much as I hate to admit it, you two are essential for winning." Hyūga was pinching the bridge of his nose, sighing loudly.

"We're sorry. We promise to watch out," Taiga apologized.

"At least you have decency... Kagami. Oh look, that rhymed!" Izuki took out his note book on an instant while the others were rolling their eyes.

"He's right, though..." Hyūga huffed with a glare at Daiki.

"Yeah, he is," said one grunted, suppressing a smirk.

"Nothing new you have no manners, Aomine," Wakamatsu laughed.

"Oh, well, I'm sure he's decent deep down, at the bottom of his heart or else he wouldn't have a girlfriend right now," Izuki winked into the group, causing them to start shouting in confusion while Daiki and Taiga both frowned at Izuki.

"And you can tell just by looking at my face or what," Daiki sneered.

"Please focus. We're supposed to be talking about quidditch-..." Hyūgas voice got drowned out by Izuki.

"Not exactly, but when we left the locker room after our match, I found a note with a heart on it at the place where you've changed. If that isn't the ultimate prove that you've got a girlfriend! Am I not a genius?" he explained proudly while Daiki felt hot for a moment, his hands gripping onto the edge of the table. He'd been such an idiot to not have noticed Taiga's note falling out of his jeans pocket when he'd changed into his quidditch uniform. And now Izuki of all people found it. Could this Sunday possibly get even worse?

"I always suspected he has a secret girlfriend! Good job, Izuki!" Wakamatsu roared, slapping his fist onto the table several times.

"Who is she now?" Furihata asked with big eyes.

"Romilda Vane!"

"No, not her... It must be someone else!"

"Hey, listen, I don't have a fucking girlfriend!" Daiki growled to stop the team from gossiping.

"Yeah, and who's going to believe you that?" Hyūga had arched his brows, having given up on turning the topic to quidditch.

"Uh... Taiga!" Daiki blurted hastily and every gaze was directed at the redhead the next second.

"Well, uhm... Daiki tells the truth...?" Taiga cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Oh, I bet Aomine is blackmailing you to not tell us who she is!" Izuki replied. Daiki groaned loudly, wanting to hit his head on the table.

"Why aren't you telling us, Aomine?" Kiyoshi asked as nice as he was.

"Maybe because it's embarrassing! Just say so if you're dating professor McGonagall..." Wakamatsu snorted, causing the whole group to burst into laughter.

"Shut the fuck up! Taiga can witness that I haven't been around anyone except him, Satsuki and Tetsu!" Daiki yelled angered.

"Sadly that's true... You're rarely interacting with girls..." Izuki stared at the table, lost in his thoughts.

"I have it! It's Momoi!" Hyūga shouted victoriously.

"What? Aren't they just friends?" Furihata threw in shyly while Daiki pretended to throw up.

"Why would I want to be together with that hag?" he furrowed his brows.

"But you said you've only been around Kagami, Kuroko and Momoi! And she's not ugly by any means, so it must be her because I'd seriously start worrying about you if it was Kuroko or Kagami," Wakamatsu guffawed. Daiki felt his face darkening.

"I'm leaving the speculations to you, I gotta go." He stood up and left them, exiting through the big double doors.

"Woah, what's his problem?" Wakamatsu shook his head with a frown.

"Hormones," Izuki decided to answer.

"In that case, I better look after him," Taiga forced out a laugh, following Daiki to the common room. The latter one was already in a bad mood, but it got better when they met Tetsuya and Satsuki there, joining them in front of the fire place. Even Quaffle showed up, landing on Daiki's shoulder and rubbing her head on his neck as if knowing that he was feeling a bit down. But it didn't last long until he smiled again when he was able to hide his and Taiga's linked hands between them while listening to their friends telling them about their visit in Hogsmeade.

Tomorrow is going to be a better day, were Daiki's last thoughts before he went to bed, hugging Taiga under the blanket as soon as everyone else was asleep.  
Maybe tomorrow...


	32. About Fate and Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta say only one thing:  
> Have fun with this super long chapter!   
>  ＼(^▽^＠)ノ

It was no wonder that Daiki and Taiga both fell asleep during History of Magic with professor Binns, not just because they died of boredom, but also because they haven't gotten much sleep last night. Daiki had refused to go back to his own bed until two AM and now suffered from sleep deprivation, as well as Taiga who'd wanted to stay awake as long as the other would hug him. They'd also been too excited to fall asleep, having whispered about what it would be like once they'd get married. Taiga had to promise Daiki to cook for him every day while the other said he'd take care of anything else. Maybe he'd gone a bit overboard since he was a lazy person, but the moment counted.

"What name are we going to take?" Taiga had whispered that night.

"What do you mean?" Daiki had let his hands wander over his boyfriend's bare back after having slipped them under his shirt.

"Am I going to be Taiga Aomine?" he'd asked and Daiki had immediately felt a blush creeping onto his face.

"Well, I think Daiki Kagami sounds cool too," he'd mused.

"I don't know... I'd like to get rid of that name..."

"But you have to admit, it sounds pretty badass," Daiki had smirked.

"If you think so... Your name is more famous, though, I imagine it would be pretty awesome to be called Mr Aomine!" Taiga's voice had sounded so pure that Daiki had to hug him even closer.

"What about some fresh double name then? Like Daiki Aomine-Kagami or Kagami-Aomine?" Daiki had snorted.

"Pff, that sounds weird..."

"Still, I think Kagami fits to me," he'd whispered.

"Well, I have a good argument against that. You're the most popular person in the wizarding world, so no one is going to call you Daiki Kagami just because we got married. The people will have you as Aomine in mind and that won't change."

"That's pretty sad, what a shame that only people like Satsuki and Tetsu accept us. It's gotta be Aomine then, huh..." Daiki had hummed thoughtfully.

"Like I said, that's going to be the better option," Taiga had whispered with a smile.

"Taiga Aomine... Yeah, I can get used to that," Daiki had laughed quietly before kissing his boyfriend with a fluttering heart.

"Mr Aomine! This is the fifth time you fell asleep during my lesson!" Daiki opened his eyes drowsily, blinking at the angry ghost in front of him.

"Since I heard that you and Mr Kagami already have a growing amount of detention, I'll be nice for the last time and only reduce Gryffindor's points by fivteen!" With that professor Binns turned around to continue on writing complicated and boring stuff onto the blackboard. Daiki blushed slightly when looking over to Taiga who'd also reacted to the name Aomine. That being the highlight of the lesson, the four friends enjoyed the break before Divination in a corridor that wasn't as crowded as the others.

"Dai-chan, Taiga, we won't be able to win the house cup if you two continue to fall asleep! Why are you so tired anyways?" Satsuki nagged and Daiki rolled his eyes, leaning against the window.

"Staying awake all night has to have its consequences after all," Tetsuya stated with his monotone voice.

"Tetsu, what-..." Daiki shouted surprised. Had the small wizard been awake too? They should really be more careful...

"You do? But why?" Satsuki looked at them confused.

"Well, I like to hug Taiga before I go to sleep," Daiki huffed embarrassed.

"Oh, Dai-chan, that's so cute!" she cooed. That reaction had been predictable...

"And you're cuddling the whole time?" Satsuki asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yesterday they talked about marriage," Tetsuya betrayed them.

"Tetsuya, you idiot!" Taiga growled embarrassed.

"Aww, you guys are so romantic! I can't wait to be at your wedding!"

"Shh, not so loud! And it's not like we're getting married tomorrow!" Daiki grumbled.

"Maybe next year...?"

"Are you stupid or what!!"

"Geez, Dai-chan, I was joking," Satsuki giggled, causing Daiki to groan.

"Classes are going to start, and you know there's always a queue in front of the ladder to Divination," Tetsuya reminded them.

"Right, I'll go to Arithmancy then, see you later!" Satsuki waved at them before heading to her classroom.

"Seems like I have to think about something new in the meantime since that damn bat won't let me in," Taiga grumbled, scowling at the wall.

"Well, maybe professor Trelawney has changed her mind during holidays," Tetsuya speculated, but Taiga shook his head.

"Yeah, come on, don't be that negative, maybe the star constellation or whatever is different and you're her favorite student now!" Daiki tried cheering him up too, patting his back.

"No, I think she's simply afraid of Half-breeds, that's everything," Taiga muttered bitterly. Daiki froze for a second before he threw his arm around the redhead's shoulder.

"Hey, don't let that get to you, she only wants to be dramatic. Just don't let the hatch fall onto your head when she closes it, good plan?"

"Sounds dangerous," Taiga sighed.

"You know I'll carry you to the hospital wing," Daiki smirked at him.

"Oh, wow, now I'm much more motivated..." the redhead snorted sarcastically, getting into the line in front of the infamous ladder. Of course Taiga received a lot of funny looks since the students who attended Divination classes were wondering themselves why professor Trelawney kept throwing him out, even though he'd done nothing.

"Why do you even try, Kagami," Miyaji sneered as he passed them.

"Right, freak, even the bat knows that something went totally wrong with you..."   
Haizaki. He was the last thing Daiki needed right now.

"Fuck off," Taiga snarled and Daiki watched slightly amused how Haizaki flinched when the redhead made a step in his direction.

"Oh, you're thinking this is funny, don't you, Aomine! But you won't laugh once the Ministry comes to get him!" Haizaki hissed, drawing attention from the other students that still were lined up in front of the ladder.

"Well, I don't know what's going to happen if someone else finds out you used the Cruciatus Curse inside Hogwarts!" Daiki fired back.

"Don't try me, Aomine. What would happen if someone else finds out that you're a goddamn cocksucker? Just imagine what your parents would say to that, you're lucky they're dead..."

"You fucking bastard!!" Daiki yelled while Taiga was shouting something at Haizaki the same time, all the while students were listening to them and started to whisper behind held up hands. Daiki was held back by Midorima and Kise when he was about to charge at Haizaki, his words making his blood boil.

"Stop behaving like children," Midorima interfered, placing himself between Haizaki and Daiki, leaving the latter one to Kuroko who was also having an eye on Taiga.

"Fine, grass head, just let me through..." Haizaki spat before roughly making his way to the ladder.

"Aominecchi! What was all that about?? Why is he saying such things?" Kise clung onto him the next second, looking at him worriedly.

"Get lost," Daiki grunted, shaking him off before climbing up the ladder. The situation calmed down a bit afterwards, but there still was a certain tension hanging in the air. He knew that Haizaki was effectively spreading rumours about him now.

Taiga was the last one climbing up to the Divination classroom, but of course professor Trelawney quickly hurried over to the hatch like every time, trying to close it before the redhead could get in. She shrieked when Taiga refused to let her close it by pushing with his hand against the hatch, the students watching with excitement what was about to happen next. Trelawney's dramatical outbursts were always interesting after all and Daiki had the feeling that everyone desperately wanted to find out why the professor wouldn't let Taiga into her classroom.

The bat jumped back when the redhead managed to get through, walking over to Daiki and sitting down next to him without a word. Professor Trelawney looked a bit confused before her eyes wandered from Taiga to the hatch and back to Taiga in shock. She then started to laugh nervously, although her face was paler than Tetsuya's.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but you have to leave," she forced a smile at his direction, seemingly not wanting to get closer to him than necessary.

"Why?" Daiki jumped in for his boyfriend.

"His presence is disturbing my inner eye!" she exclaimed.

"That's a bad excuse!"

"Mr Aomine, if you continue to question my lesson methods, I see myself forced to reduce Gryffindor's house points!" She didn't sound exactly angry, but nervous and upset at the same time as if the situation was just too much for her.

"I'll go then," Taiga muttered, making his way back over to the hatch.

"But-..." Daiki failed to hold him back when Miyaji interrupted him.

"Yeah, leave, you've cost us enough house points!"

"But Mr Miyaji! There is no need to insult!" Trelawney distanced herself from the hatch when Taiga opened it again with a scowl on his face while Daiki was glaring at Miyaji.

"This is not supposed to be offensive professor, but aren't you the one being mean to Kagamicchi?" Kise threw in, seemingly having pity with the redhead.

"Oh, uhm, what? N-no, it's not his fault, but I have to exclude him from this class..." She shakily fumbled with her glasses, waiting for Taiga to go through the hatch.

"What about his grade then?" Akashi asked slyly and Daiki was sure that professor Trelawney had the hardest time of her life at the moment.

"We'll see about that... Now I finally want to start! Please wait outside for your friends, Mr Kagami..." she laughed jitterly while Daiki watched with a frown how Taiga had to make his way down again.

"So," she clapped her hands once he was gone.

"Today you will learn seeing the future with the help of Tessomancy!"  
Everyone groaned at that, remembering the procedure from their third year. It practically included nothing than drinking tea and seeing what kind of pattern the tea leaves left on the bottom of the cup.

"Please fill your cups now and drink as soon as it has cooled down a bit. In the meantime I will go around to see if there's anyone needing to be warned about their future..." Now she sounded mysterious again like always.

"But first, lucky news!"  
Daiki burned himself with the tea when suddenly hearing the bat's happy voice.

"Mr Aomine, I saw with the help of my inner eye that you just found the love of your life that will be at your side until the very end!" Trelawney hurried over to him excited.

"I knew it!" Wakamatsu shouted somewhere from the other end of the room.

"Oh, I can see her in front of me!" She closed her eyes and grabbed Daiki's hands, the latter one trying not to pull them away in the first place. This was either going to be very amusing or just total shit.

"Such a fragile and tiny girl with long red hair and skin as white as snow!"  
Daiki thought of Taiga's muscled body the same time and tried to not burst into laughter.

"She's smart and elegant..." Trelawney continued and Daiki had to grin when Tetsuya let out a loud snort. But the professor didn't let that disturb her, continuing on describing Daiki's non-existent girlfriend.

"Oh, that's too bad, she doesn't like quidditch at all. But she loves to be around owls, and her favorite hobby is reading. She absolutely can't cook, though! I wonder how you two came together, your interests don't match in the least. That's gotta be love, I guess..." she sighed the last sentence and Daiki couldn't hold back anymore, he almost exploded with laughter while Tetsuya tried his best to prevent himself from grinning.

"B-but what's wrong, Mr Aomine? Are you seriously surprised that I'm right??" Trelawney blinked at him with a smile on her face.

"Seems like the opposite!" Takao began cackling loudly, Daiki's laughter seemed to be contagious.

"Then watch out you don't lose your girlfriend again, Mr Aomine, because there are some factors that may split you two if you don't watch out!" the professor turned away from him offended, walking over to another student with a serious expression this time.

"Oh, my dear, I see something vicious coming your way..."  
The lesson continued like that, Daiki was joking with Tetsuya about how fitting the description of his _girlfriend_ was, since it was no secret that his redhead was a cute but clumsy idiot. He wished he'd be here, though, talking with Taiga about this would've been even more fun. Daiki was a bit concerned about his poor Tiger that was now strolling around in the castle without anything to do, but it wasn't the first time he wasn't allowed to attend Divination class, so he was almost sure that the redhead wouldn't die without him.

The rest of the time Daiki drank his tea that tasted even worse than Hagrid's, its content seeming to be nothing more than sugar and something else that smelled like perfume. But in the end he was even more surprised when he actually saw something in his cup, unlike most of the students. After a bit of thinking he was certain that the tea leaves showed him a dragon which was confirmed when he looked into Tetsuya's cup and saw the exact same thing. Even weirder was that Akashi, Kise, Midorima and Murasakibara had also found the dragon inside their cup.

Even though Daiki had always doubted all of this future seeing things, he was a bit creeped out by now, especially when all of them turned their cups around. For Daiki nothing changed, but Kise, Akashi, Murasakibara and Midorima all saw a skeleton riding on a horse now, the symbol for death. The leaves in Tetsuya's cup resembled a broken hourglass, but Daiki saw nothing except the dragon being turned on its head. That was until Akashi accidently hit the table with his knee as he stood up slightly alarmed, causing Daiki's dragon to whirl at the bottom of his cup, forming a new sign.  
It was a broken heart.

"What the heck..." he murmured, hating himself for being scared all of a sudden because of what he saw inside a stupid cup. Just to test something, he pushed at the table with his leg another time, waiting for the leaves to lose their form, but they didn't. The broken heart wouldn't vanish. The air around them was gloomy as no one said a word and just continued to stare at their signs. Daiki kicked the table another time, pressing his jaw together tightly as he wished the heart to vanish. The other's watched how he demolished the table over and over again until it flipped and the cups fell down, breaking on the floor with a clattering sounds.  
Every pair of eyes turned to them in amusement or curiosity while professor Trelawney hurried over to them.

"Oh, no! What have you done? Well, the table was a bit broken before, what a shame..." she sighed, probably having not realized that Daiki had made it fall over with force.

"But since you six are gentlemen, you're gonna help me clean the mess, right?" she smiled at them, no warning hidden in her voice.

"The rest of you can leave, the lesson is over. Please make a sketch of what you've seen and interpret the meaning, as well as what this could tell you about your future!" the bat announced and the students gladly hurried out of the classroom, everyone wanting to get down the ladder first while throwing Daiki and the others wondering looks.

"I'll go look if I have enough cups left for my third years. The results of Tessomancy will be falsified if you just repair them with magic..." Trelawney sighed and went through the backdoor into her office.

"What the fuck was that?!" Daiki hissed, the other five being frozen, no one moved a finger.

"Right!! This tea leave thing was always nonsense, so why is something that spooky happening now??" Kise whined scared.

"Divination is never nonsense. If that's our fate, we'll have to find a way to change it..." Midorima stated lowly.

"Midorimacchi!" Kise cried out scandalized while the others were staring onto the ground with wide eyes, Akashi seemed to be inwardly upset about it the most, he didn't even blink for a minute. Daiki wondered what Taiga would've seen. The skeleton? The broken heart? He felt sick thinking of each of it, the sign in his cup already making him feel ill.  
Wasn't all this Tessomancy just bullshit? He'd never believed in such things, so why was his own heart hammering against his chest as if in panic?

"Why haven't you started cleaning up-... Oh, you've seen something horrible, right? I'm sorry, you may go to enjoy the time that is still given to you..." Trelawney had returned, almost looking as if she was about to cry for them, her expression full of pity. They did as she told them, climbing down the ladder without another word.

"What happened?" Taiga asked them as soon as he saw Daiki, having waited for him and Tetsuya while leaning against the wall. He walked over to the group worriedly as soon as he noticed their petrified faces.

"We... saw something," Tetsuya murmured.

"What??" He looked at them with wide eyes, trying to get answers out of them.

"It was terrifying, Kagamicchi! The symbol of death appeared inside our cups, and we don't know if this really means something, but I don't feel really well now!" Kise shrieked.

"This was the most interesting Divination lesson..." Murasakibara hummed, looking expectedly not as tired as always.

"Interesting?! That's been so creepy!! You should've been there, Kagamicchi!! Now I'm going to bed and I'll never leave it again!!" Kise shouted hysterically, rushing away. Daiki tsked and clenched his hands to fists. He shortly looked at Taiga, seeing in his eyes that he'd do nothing else but hug him this moment if it wasn't for the other's.

"I'm kinda starting to ask myself what you would've seen, Taiga... I bet it would've been different from our symbols," Akashi said, his whole form being tense as his voice was shaking. He was somehow more irritated by this than everyone else, except maybe Kise.

"He's got nothing to do with it, alright?" Daiki growled.

"We shouldn't let this have such an impact on us. It's always possible to change the future, even for us. I'm going to read through the Divination school book now..." Midorima intervened, hiding his eyes behind his glasses when he spoke, turning around to leave afterwards.

"It could have no meaning at all, though, Divination never made sense before, so why should it now?" Murasakibara grumbled before also deciding to head to the Hufflepuff common room, probably having to calm down a frightened Kise there.

"You just watch your step, Taiga," Akashi hissed before leaving. As soon as he was out of sight and they were alone in the empty corridor, Taiga approached Daiki to put his arms around him, feeling that he was upset.

"Hey, Daiki..." the redhead whispered softly, his hands starting to rub Daiki's back while holding him against his chest.

"Apparently you forgot me, so I decide to remind you of my presence," Tetsuya suddenly voiced out, causing the other two to jump out of their skin.

"Fuck, Tetsu!!" Daiki shouted, having gripped onto Taiga's Gryffindor robe tightly.

"But seriously, what happened up there?" the redhead asked one more time, continuing to comfort Daiki.

"Well, he saw a broken heart..." Tetsuya helped him.

"Oh..." Taiga muttered while Daiki was scowling at the short wizard.

"Yeah, you've got nothing to worry about with your shattered hourglass..." he grumbled.

"I don't know, Daiki. None of us had a good sign," Tetsuya sighed.

"Why are you even worrying about this so much? Didn't we agree that Divination is bullshit?"

"Yeah... You're right..." Daiki closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being embraced by Taiga as long as he could.

They met Satsuki in the common room, telling her about what had happened. Expectedly she saw it the way Taiga did, telling them to not make a fuss about it since every method of Divination was rubbish in her opinion. Talking about something else, Daiki slowly pushed the horrible lesson in the background. Everything seemed to be fine again when they laughed together as soon as Tetsuya mentioned how professor Trelawney had described Daiki's lover. Taiga's face was flushed the whole time while Daiki was teasing him about apparently being so smart and elegant and whatever...

"See, Dai-chan? You've got nothing to worry about, Divination is nothing but imbecility!"

"Alright, alright, I got it now!" he sighed a bit annoyed, but was inwardly relieved that even Satsuki told him he shouldn't take it too serious.

The following night Taiga walked over to Daiki's bed when everyone was asleep, it was his turn this time. He snuggled into him as soon as he got under the blanket, hugging Daiki from behind. Daiki placed his hands on his boyfriend's when said one wrapped his arms around his middle.

"You okay?" Taiga whispered into his ear, sounding slightly concerned while shoving his leg between Daiki's to be closer to him.

"Yeah, it's fine. It just weirded me out I guess," Daiki mumbled, closing his eyes when the redhead placed a kiss on his temple.

"Don't worry, I'll be there for you whenever you need me. I'm not taking my words back when I said I'd do everything for you," he hummed softly and Daiki felt even warmer than before.

"And here you are again, trying to win the Best Boyfriend Award..." he chuckled quietly, letting Taiga kiss his neck.

"No, that one's for you. You're caring for me so much and have a lot of patience with me, there's no one like you!"

"I think it's the other way around," Daiki mused with a smile.

"Do you think Tetsu is listening to us right now?" he then deadpanned, causing Taiga to snort.

"Well, who knows? If he can hear this he should know that he's one sneaky bastard!"

"You hear, Tetsu? Right at your face!" Daiki joined him, it was time for a little bit of revenge since Tetsuya had revealed them this morning.

"Shh, not so loud, someone might actually wake up!" Taiga whispered, holding back his laughter. Daiki smiled widely and he always felt like this was the time of the day where he was the happiest. He turned around in Taiga's arms to face him, searching his lips with his own. They found each other soon and kissed a bit longer than usual, and Daiki got the vibe that Taiga made himself responsible to make him feel better again, to help him forget the bad symbol from Divination. And he was glad for that.  
He really shouldn't believe in this fortune stuff.

* * *

"Snow!!"  
Daiki was woken up by Wakamatsu roaring at the window, jumping up and down in excitement. He pulled the blanket over his head to muffle his annoying shouts.

"Oh, wow, Daiki you must see this!" Although it was Taiga taking his blanket away, Daiki scowled at him for having disturbed his sleep. But the redhead looked even more excited than Wakamatsu who was promising him a snowball fight later on, bumping their fists together. Now Daiki was glaring at the blonde loudmouth that had no right to touch his redhead.

"Come on, Daiki!" Taiga laughed the next moment, grabbing his arm to drag him out of his bed over to the window. And even though he wouldn't admit it, he was amazed when staring outside, everything was coated with snow, making the whole landscape look so different. No footprints were anywhere to be seen yet, the untouched snow was quite beautiful. That wouldn't prevent him from rubbing lots of snow into Taiga's face as soon as they'd get outside, though...

"Isn't that great?!" the redhead still grinned.

"Why are you so hyped about snow? Didn't you have that all year at Durmstrang?" Daiki snorted amused, flashing a smile at him.

" _Almost_ all year, but... I guess I missed it a bit. And also, this is my first snow with you, so of course I'm happy!"  
Daiki blushed and he ached to close his arms around his boyfriend, burying his face in his nape while listening to his cutely excited voice. He caught himself almost doing so, until he noticed Wakamatsu giving him and Taiga an odd look.

"You guys tell me when you're having a love affair! Think of your poor girlfriend, Aomine!" he joked while patting Taiga's shoulder.

"For the last time, I don't have a girlfriend," Daiki scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, what's up-... Did it snow??" Furihata jumped out of his bed too as soon as he was woken up by the others who were still standing in front of the window.

"Whatever, my feet are getting cold. I'm going to sleep again," Daiki grunted, making his way back. That was until Tetsuya suddenly appeared in front of him.

"I'm sorry Daiki, but it's Tuesday, so we'll have to eat breakfast in the Great Hall now."

"Woah!! Tetsu, you little-...!!" Daiki cursed, jolting at Tetsuya's sudden presence.

They met Satsuki when heading down the stairs, and she grabbed both Daiki's and Tetsuya's arms when starting to tell them about the snow too.

"And do you remember what that means, Dai-chan? The Yule Ball is close!!" she cheered and let them go to make a pirouette while Daiki glared at the floor, his mood sinking.

"It's in two weeks already, right?" Taiga asked.

"Yup! Oh, it's going to be so awesome! Well, and we're going to leave Hogwarts afterwards, but at least we'll be able to dance beforehand!" Satsuki smiled widely.

"Oh God, please spare me!" Daiki grumbled with a loud sigh while Satsuki made another pirouette in overjoy and was suddenly stuck in a trick step. She made a surprised noise, trying to get her foot out when Daiki started to laugh at her.

"Serves you right!"

"You're mean, Dai-chan, help me out!" she sulked.

"Nope," Daiki just smirked, enjoying the first time Satsuki fell for a trick step.

"Taiga?" She turned to the redhead, looking at him with her puppy eyes.

"Ah, uhm... I'll help you, don't worry," he smiled shyly, carefully grabbing her under the arms to lift her up, seemingly scared to use too much force. Satsuki sighed.

"I'm not made of sugar and we know each other for half a year now, Taiga, so make a bit use of your muscles, you idiot!" she nagged with a smile on her face.

"Sorry, uh... Hold onto my shoulders." Taiga's face was a bit red as he kneeled down to let Satsuki get on his back to pull her foot out when he stood up again.

"This takes way too long, I'm starving," Daiki yawned a bit amused by that awkward interaction between Taiga and Satsuki. Even Tetsuya smiled at the two.

"We got it!" Satsuki laughed, her arms wrapped around Taiga's neck while the redhead was holding her legs.

"Nice view," she added, patting his head.

"Hey, why is your face that red, you're supposed to be gay," Daiki teased his boyfriend who was indeed a bit flustered by suddenly carrying Satsuki on his back.

"Now, now, we don't want to miss breakfast, do we? Onwards!" Satsuki directed Taiga, not planning on giving up on the seemingly _nice view_ all too soon. Daiki rolled his eyes with a smile, although he couldn't help but think that Taiga was going to be asked a lot if he was together with Satsuki by judging the looks that were given to them. And even though he had no reason to, he somehow was jealous because no one was ever going to seriously ask him if he was together with Taiga, without making a joke or a disgusted face. Well, it shouldn't really matter to him what others thought anyways...

Daiki slowly forgot about the broken heart in his tea cup over the week. How could he not, Taiga was cuddling him every night, smiling whenever he'd look at him. They kissed occasionally, although it was rare that no one was around them. Of course they also had a lot of snowball fights with their quidditch team, having a battle with Ravenclaw on one afternoon. Although it was supposed to be Gryffindor against Ravenclaw, Midorima kept chasing Takao who _accidently_ threw every snowball at him. It was the same with Daiki and Taiga, though. After rubbing snow into the redhead's face like he'd promised to himself, Taiga was quick to tackle him to the ground, rolling with him through the snow. Daiki was sure he never laughed that much on any other day. To the others it still looked like they were fighting for their lives, but to be honest, Daiki felt more like Taiga was hugging him as he continued to push both of them into the snow.

"Ever planning on letting me go?" Daiki smirked at the other.

"Not really," Taiga smiled, laying his head down on Daiki's chest that was hugged by his thick winter jacket. He almost felt too comfortable right now, the redhead was a perfect blanket. His boyfriend's cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, causing Daiki to grab his face with his gloved hands.

"You're so cute," he laughed.

"Shut up, I'm not cute! You are!" Taiga protested, batting his hands away in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah," Daiki chuckled.

"Hey, you two, what's wrong? Did you knock each other out or why are you just laying over there?" Hyūga suddenly shouted over to them.

"Maybe they fell asleep!" Takao cackled, Midorima had seemingly given him a break.

"Whatever, we need you now, it's time for revenge!! Teppei, help me get those lazybones back to the front!" the captain shouted, trying to pull Taiga up.  
After another fight, all of them were getting back to the castle in exhaustion.

"Haha, good job Kagami, you were a great shield!" Wakamatsu laughed when they got inside, brushing the snow off him.

"Just because you're too much of a coward! And don't let yourself be exploited, Taiga!" Daiki growled, getting between the two of them.

"I'm not a damn coward, Aomine! Besides it was you who hid behind him for quite a while!" Wakamatsu bit back.

"Well... Everyone else was hiding behind me too! We're not a wall that protects you from snowballs!" Daiki growled.

"Actually..." Taiga intervened by pushing both their heads down.

"I don't mind being a wall as long as I can protect the others!"

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like you..." Wakamatsu huffed.

"But you can't be that nice to anyone!" Daiki protested, throwing a glare at Wakamatsu.

"Maybe... To be honest, I'm kinda freezing right now," the redhead admitted, hugging his torso to warm himself.

"It's all your fault, you coward!" Daiki immediately yelled at Wakamatsu.

"Say that again!!"

"You're so annoying..." Taiga rolled his eyes, leaving the two alone. He was probably heading to the common room to sit down in front of the fireplace.

"Who did he mean now?" Wakamatsu grunted.

"You, obviously!" Daiki growled.

"I think he meant both of you brainless idiots," Tetsuya suddenly spoke out of nowhere, scaring the shit out of them.

"What the fuck, Kuroko!" Wakamatsu shrieked loudly.

"Ugh, your voice is killing my eardrums..." Daiki just left with that, looking after Taiga. As expected he found him in front of the fire, wrapped in a blanket. Damn, he looked so cute huddled up like that.

"Hey there," Daiki smiled as soon as he saw him, sitting down next to him on the couch. The common room wasn't as crowded as usual, being almost empty because of the snow outside.

"Hey, dumbass," Taiga teased him, smiling back.

"You're that cold?" Daiki chuckled, inconspicuously scooting closer to him so that their bodies were touching.

"Oh, I got twice as much snowballs into my face than you did..." the redhead snorted.

"Maybe because I'm better at dodging?" Daiki smirked arrogantly.

"Maybe because you almost spent the whole time ducking down behind my back?" Taiga cocked one eyebrow in amusement.

"Alright, you got me... Can I do something to warm you up?" Daiki grinned, already placing his arms around the redhead, hugging him through the blanket.

"There are people around, you idiot!" Taiga mumbled, trying to get away from him only half-heartedly.

"I don't care..." Daiki sighed, laying his head on Taiga's shoulder. That was until he heard someone giggling behind them. At first he thought it was Satsuki, but she sounded different. When Daiki turned around he saw two girls he didn't know whispering to each other, one of them seeming to want to push her friend into Daiki's and Taiga's direction. He watched with a frown how the girl walked over to them nervously and quickly smiled at Daiki when she saw that he'd noticed her.

"Uhm, excuse me..." Against his presumption she apparently wanted to talk to Taiga, going by the way she was tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

"I- I know that you don't know me, but the Yule Ball is coming up soon and I wanted to ask you if you could dance with me..." The girl blushed which caused Daiki to glare at her. Not just because she was trying to steal _his_ Taiga, but his ego was also hurt by the fact that she didn't ask him. He just noticed how absurd that sounded, but he couldn't blame himself for his arrogance.

"Oh, uh... I'm sorry, but I already have someone," Taiga apologized with one of his finest smiles.

"Well, I should have expected it..." she laughed it off, quickly retreating and going back to her friend with a disappointed expression.

The hell you should have, Daiki thought, although he had no reason to be jealous. But he knew he would never have the courage to ask someone something like that, so luckily Satsuki solved it for him and Taiga by making them dance together. Wether this was a good plan or not was to be seen.

When Taiga sneezed, Daiki got pulled out of his thoughts, looking over to him with a grin on his face.

"Don't get sick here, you hear me?" he joked.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Taiga hummed, winking at him.

"Right, idiots can't get sick!" Daiki smirked.

"You're the wrong one to make that joke!" Taiga laughed, wriggling one arm out of the blanket to flick at Daiki's nose with his index finger.

"Uhuh, maybe I'm smarter than you think," he mused.

"You and smart? That doesn't fit," Taiga snorted amused, shaking his head. Daiki smiled back at him and the urge to kiss him was so big that he shortly considered doing so. But unfortunately the common room got more occupied with every minute passing.

"Hey Taiga," he whispered to get his attention, causing the redhead to lean closer to him. Daiki got shortly lost by how nice the other smelled, and he really had problems to hold back.

"How about we sneak outside tonight?" he then asked his boyfriend.

"Seriously? The last time we encountered Dementors, though..." Taiga remembered a bit unsurely.

"No, I originally meant we're going to the Prefects' Bathroom," he winked at him.

"The Prefects' Bathroom?! Holy shit, I heard that's the most luxurious bathroom at Hogwarts!" Taiga gaped at him.

"Yeah, that's why we're going there," Daiki grinned proudly.

"But isn't it only for prefects and quidditch captains and stuff? They have a password for it, have they?" he asked him.

"Well, actually yes, but I once heard Hyūga mumbling it when he wanted to take a bath, so we're safe!"

"Awesome!" Taiga laughed, throwing the blanket away as he seemed to feel better again. He quickly ruffled Daiki's hair before Tetsuya and Satsuki were joining them.

"There you are!" Satsuki grinned, sitting down next to them, as well as Tetsuya. They talked about something, but Daiki couldn't really concentrate, his mind wandering to their plan for tonight. He'd have Taiga for himself all night long, he could kiss and touch him as much as he wanted.

"Dai-chan, every time you're making a face like that, we know you've planned something," Satsuki suddenly sighed.

"Maybe," Daiki shrugged teasingly.

They soon headed down for dinner, everyone being in a good mood. Tetsuya and Satsuki walked ahead while Daiki and Taiga fell back a bit to grin at each other excitedly. But like before their moment was destroyed by someone else.

"Uhm, Daiki?" a tiny voice asked next to him and he turned around to see a girl walking next to him. He shortly squinted his eyes, did he know that person? He just then realized that this was probably about the Yule Ball again and held back to roll his eyes.

"I was wondering if you could dance with me on the Yule Ball..."   
Just as he thought.

"Uh..." His eyes fell on her chest almost reflexively, but he quickly pulled himself together.

"Sorry, you're too late," he then grunted before ignoring her, continuing on walking down the stairs with Taiga.

"Can I eat dinner with you?" the girl remained persistent, suddenly clinging onto his arm. Daiki sighed loudly, trying to refuse as nice as possible.

"I'm _really_ sorry, but I'm already eating _and_ dancing with someone else. I don't even know you," he grumbled.

"That can change if you want..." she smiled, getting on the tip of her toes to peck his cheek before darting away.

"What the fuck!" Daiki growled, rubbing at his cheek as if trying to wipe the kiss away. He turned to Taiga when he noticed that the latter one wasn't saying anything, and Daiki was a bit confused to see him glaring at the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong? There are silly people everywhere, and only you're allowed to kiss my cheek, you know?" he tried teasing him to get him back to normal. But Taiga just grumbled something, grabbing his arm to pull him away from the stairs into a corridor on the third floor that was abandoned now that everyone was down for dinner.

"Uh... Is everything okay?" Daiki started to wonder as Taiga frowned at him when they were alone. Daiki was about to ask something else when he suddenly got pushed back against the wall and felt Taiga's lips on his the next second. He wasn't as gentle as usual, working his tongue into Daiki's mouth as the other was still a bit surprised. But it felt even better when he responded to the hungry kiss, and letting Taiga's tongue lick the insides of his mouth.

"Woah," Daiki panted when they parted.

"You almost made me hard," he smirked, but noticed that Taiga was still looking at him with a somehow sour expression.

"Taiga?"

"You... You were clearly staring at her breasts!" the redhead then shouted, squinting his eyes together.  
Oh, so that was it.

"Are you... jealous?" Daiki furrowed his brows.

"N-no, no, I'm not! But you're not supposed to stare at girls when you're having me!" Now it rather looked like Taiga was sulking, averting his gaze from Daiki's.

"Oh... Hey, Taiga, I'm sorry, alright? That doesn't really mean anything, it's just... uh, kind of a reflex? Seriously, I can't even imagine being with a girl now that I've got you," he tried to calm him down, wrapping his arms around him.

"You mean it?"

"Yes, I'm as honest as never right now! And I'll prove it to you every day!"

"Fine... because you're mine, alright? And I won't let anyone else have you!" Taiga pouted.

"I know, Tiger, I know," Daiki chuckled before he got kissed again by his boyfriend. He seriously wouldn't have thought that Taiga belonged to the type that got jealous so easily, but well, in some points he really was like Daiki.  
The redhead suddenly moved down, sucking and licking a spot on his neck to leave a mark. Daiki let out a surprised gasp when Taiga kissed the sensitive skin before looking up and smirking at him.

"How am I going to cover that up?" Daiki sighed with a light smile on his face.

"You won't. Everyone should know that you're not single anymore! And you're belonging to me, so I won't let anyone else touch you ever again!" Taiga said with a red face.

"Woah, no need to be that obsessive, I also don't want anyone touching me except you," Daiki laughed.

"O-okay, then it's alright!"

"Aww, come on, I'll never even get the idea to leave you. You're cute like this, though, guess I really love you," Daiki smiled, stroking Taiga's hair out of his forehead.

"We should go down then, Tetsuya and Satsuki are wondering where we are..." The redhead already turned away when Daiki hold him back.

"Didn't you forget something?" he smirked.

"I... I love you too," Taiga blushed.

"Now come here, I really have to kiss you now!" Daiki laughed and pulled his boyfriend towards him again, locking their lips. Taiga wrapped his arms around Daiki's waist while the latter one had one hand on the back of his head to push him closer.

"A-Aominecchi?! Kagamicchi?!?!"  
No...  
This just couldn't be true.  
Daiki and Taiga quickly let go of each other when Kise came around the corner, apparently having seen them kissing.

"W-wait... Is this... What the hell, I'm so confused!! Have I imagined something...?" The blonde looked around frantically as if he wasn't able to decide if he should just run away. Before this could happen, Daiki was quick to grab him by the collar, causing Kise to shriek.

"You saw _nothing,_ is that clear?!" he growled with his most threatening voice, already intimidating the Barbie.

"Uh... Sure, of course! Does that mean you're really in a relationship??" Kise blinked at him with big eyes.  
Daiki and Taiga both blushed, not exactly knowing how to make the best out of this situation.

"Well..." the redhead coughed.

"You're dead if you tell anyone!!" Daiki was shaking his fist in front of Kise's face.

"Woah..." he stared at them a bit longer before suddenly starting to laugh, effectively confusing the other two.

"Aominecchi, a guy, seriously?? After all those lectures about how essential boobs are for a human being?"

"Shut up! It just happened this way, alright?! If you have something against it, fuck off, but if you tell anyone, you're going to regret it!!"

"Ah, no, no," Kise raised his hands to calm him down.

"I don't have something against it, well, at least not as much as everyone else... But Aominecchi, of all guys you're dating _Kagamicchi_??"

"Hey!" said one grunted.

"I know you don't look bad, Kagamicchi, but you're almost the same as Aominecchi! That somehow doesn't fit!" Kise tried to explain.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Daiki snarled.

"Well... I thought you'd at least date a guy that looks a bit more feminine..."

"Like you or what?" Taiga snorted.

"Ew, no! It's not like _I_ want to be in a relationship with Aominecchi!" Kise shrieked, backing away alerted.

"What's the big deal then? You said you've got nothing against it, so leave us alone," Daiki grunted.

"That's right, still... I don't want to be unfair, but aren't you scared...?" the blonde asked carefully, causing Daiki to narrow his eyes at him.

"Uh, I mean Kagamicchi is... You know... Isn't that, uhm, dangerous...?" he continued with a stutter.

"Ask that again and I'll throw you down the Astronomy Tower," Daiki responded with a blank voice, taking the redhead's hand in his own.

"O-oh, sure, I'm sorry! Please don't kill me, Aominecchi, I'm too young to die!!" Kise whimpered, almost falling on his knees.

"What the heck is going on here?" When Satsuki suddenly came around the corner with Tetsuya right behind her, Daiki failed to hold back a loud groan.

"Momocchi, Kurokocchi!! Did you know they are together?!" Kise quickly hid behind her back, blinking at them with wide eyes.

"Oh, so they told you? How nice of you, Dai-chan! Don't you think they're cute too, Ki-chan?" she smiled.

"Wait, we certainly did _not_ tell him!" Taiga protested.

"Eh... I don't know if they're all that cute, yet..." Kise laughed a bit nervously.

"Can we please go down, we wanted to eat dinner fifteen minutes ago," Tetsuya stated with a sigh.

"Alright, but I swear your death will be painful if you ever dare to tell someone else about us, Kise. Was that clear enough for you??" Daiki threatened him one last time.

"Crystal clear!! But you guys still let me plan your wedding, right?" He suddenly looked at them with sparkling eyes, not what Daiki had wanted to achieve.

"Oh, that would be great, Ki-chan! We'll be the perfect wedding planners for those two idiots!" Satsuki cheered and clapped her hands excitedly.  
The two idiots both sighed simultaneously.

After Tetsuya pierced through everyone with his bright blue eyes, they finally went down to the Great Hall. Although Kise promised to keep his mouth shut, Daiki was a bit worried. It was known that Kise hated to keep secrets to himself, and everything that Kise was spreading went right into the ears of the whole school. Daiki hopefully had threatened him enough...

But nothing could lower his mood now, his mind switched back to his and Taiga's plan for tonight. He was too excited that he almost couldn't wait for everyone else to fall asleep, his heart beating faster with every minute of anticipation.  
Tonight Taiga would be his all over again.


	33. A Night together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahead for one whole chapter!  
> •̀.̫•́✧

"Shhh, hey, Taiga!" Daiki had made his way over to his boyfriend's bed, shaking him carefully to wake him up. Apparently he had no need to do so since the redhead seemed to be awake already.

"Are we going?" he whispered with excitement hidden in his voice.

"Yup. Prepare for the night of your life!" Daiki grabbed his Invisibility cloak and made his way to the exit of the dorm.

"Alright," Taiga chuckled quietly, following him in the dark. Daiki covered both of them with the cloak when they left the Gryffindor common room, but the Fat Lady was shouting after them nevertheless.

"Invisible again, Mr Aomine? You know you can't fool me, I'm fully aware of what you're going to do! Watch your cute ass, Firehead!"  
Daiki ignored her and rolled his eyes while watching out that the cloak wasn't giving them away in front of anyone else that may be in the corridors at night. He snaked his arm around Taiga's waist when they made their way to the statue of Boris the Bewildered that would reveal the entry to the Prefects' Bathroom.

"You're cute when you're excited," the redhead laughed quietly, nuzzling his face into his neck affectionately.

"S-Shut up..." Daiki blushed, clearing his throat to say the password which consisted of some weird Latin words he'd been quick to scribble down after having heard them from Hyūga once.

"Correct," Boris yawned, the statue moving aside and a door appeared behind him.

"Here goes nothing," Daiki grinned before pushing down the handle to the bathroom.  
The word bathroom was a total understatement. It was an ornate room with lots of golden pillars and fancy stuff, Daiki thought he was in a palace for one second.

"Woah... I'm going to be a prefect if I can bathe like this every day..." Taiga admitted stunned, his jaw hanging on the ground after the lights had flicked on.

"It's more than unfair that normal people like us have to use those ugly plain bathrooms while a bunch of nerds get to enjoy this!" Daiki stared at the high ceiling and the portraits with mermaids hanging on the walls. Several bathtubs were located in the room, there even were a few where you could actually swim. Next to them was always a stack of fluffy towels that were screaming to be used.

"Ha, perfect place for sex!" Daiki huffed smugly, walking over to a really noble looking bathtub and opening several water tabs.

"D-don't just say that , it's embarrassing!" Taiga's face went red from one second to another.

"We're alone here, though, I can say everything I want to!" he grinned, tossing the Invisibility cloak away before looking at the bathtub again. He remembered the place only slightly from his forth year where he'd opened the golden egg underwater.

"Oh, damn, look at all those bubbles with different colors!"

"That's what I call a bath," Taiga nodded impressed, staring at the soft looking foam on the water surface.

"Shit, it's already full, that's true magic!" Daiki laughed, quickly closing the taps.

"Don't you think this is kind of romantic?" he grinned teasingly at the redhead who was blushing already.

"It's nice, yeah..." he murmured flustered while Daiki was taking off his clothes. The latter one was smirking at him, wrapping his arms around the redhead, only wearing his briefs.

"Let's not lose time, right?" he chuckled, hugging Taiga chest to chest when starting to kiss him. The redhead immediately kissed him back, cupping Daiki's face with his hands before moving them to his back. He worked his tongue into his boyfriend's mouth, causing them both to moan loudly. Daiki's hands travelled down to push at Taiga's pyjama pants. The redhead let them be dragged down and was quick to get rid of his shirt too. Their lips found each other again in a heated kiss, their hands roaming their bodies while reducing the still existing space between them to a minimum.

"Daiki..." Taiga moaned when he had to take a breath, causing Daiki's stomach to tingle as he laid his hands on Taiga's chest. The latter one's gaze fell on his neck.

"Hickeys look good on you," he chuckled and Daiki felt how his blood rushed downwards with even more speed than before.

"Well, you should have some too then, in places where not everyone can see..." Daiki purred, and one glance down assured him that Taiga's underpants also seemed way too small by now. The redhead closed in again, kissing him messily while pulling down his and Daiki's underwear. Daiki moaned at Taiga's sudden initiative, grabbing both their erections to start pumping them. The redhead gasped, his hand joining Daiki's as they continued to kiss passionately.

"I think the bathtub is waiting for us..." Daiki smirked at Taiga seductively.

"You go first," the redhead grinned with a red face, giving a light slap on Daiki's butt.

"Oh, you want it, do you..." Daiki chuckled hoarsely, pulling the redhead with him as he entered the bathtub. The water had exactly the right temperature and they immediately kissed again as soon as they sat down. Taiga was laying on top of him, letting out pleasured noises whenever his dick brushed Daiki's thigh. The latter one was panting already, hugging the other closer to him as his cock was pressed against Taiga's stomach. The redhead lowered his head to lick Daiki's neck, his tongue leaving a trail down to his chest, caressing his pecs before sucking one nipple into his mouth.

"Woah, Taiga!" Daiki moaned when the redhead started grinding on him which was a bit difficult due to the water, but it still worked.

"See? Your nipples are sensitive too!" he just grinned.

"I like yours better, though..." Daiki hummed, staring at Taiga's chest that was shining wet.

"If you think so..." the redhead chuckled.

"You're so brave all of a sudden, I like that!" the other laughed, stroking through Taiga's wet hair.

"Well, I just finally got the feeling that we really belong together."

"That's what I'm thinking all the time since we first kissed. Shit, we're being romantic saps..." Daiki teasingly pinched his nose.

"I-if you want we can also try again to... to..." Taiga started to stammer in embarrassment.

"Stick my finger up your ass?"

"Urgh, find another way to say that!" The redhead splashed water into his face.

"You're cute, but I have a better idea. We're doing it the other way around!" Daiki grinned at him.

"Eh? It's okay, though, I'm sure it won't hurt that much this time!"

"Yeah, but I want to try it too!" Daiki pouted.

"O-oh, sure, then we better switch places," Taiga cleared his throat awkwardly. With a bit of splashing and causing waves the two managed to change positions, and now Daiki was grinding on his boyfriend teasingly.

"Uh, h-how exactly do we do this? I mean, is it okay underwater? Do I have to do something else? Could the foam do any harm??" Taiga started to freak out a bit.

"Jeez, we'd have heard of that one. And now do it, it's me who needs the balls for this!" Daiki rolled his eyes with a smile, his hand stroking Taiga's dick underwater.

"Right... You can't even brag about anything else than your glorious balls..." the redhead snorted, but moaned at Daiki's touch.

"Maybe I can brag about something else soon enough," the other chuckled until he felt Taiga's hand running down his back and his index finger sliding between his ass cheeks. He growled softly when his hole got rubbed, the sensitive muscle ring responding to Taiga's touch.

"Are you sure about this? I have the feeling it's way too tight for even one finger!" Taiga said, panting as Daiki still took care of his cock.

"Just do it, can't be that bad."  
With that the redhead carefully wriggled his finger inside, but Daiki was clenching just when the tip got through.

"Ugh..." he grunted.

"Say if we should stop!" Taiga told him slightly alarmed.

"Nope, just let me relax a little!" Daiki remained stubborn. He nodded for Taiga to continue pushing his finger inside slowly. It felt hella weird, that kind of pressure was something entirely new.

"Wait, wait, pull it out just one second!" Daiki said when the feeling became way too uncomfortable.

"Daiki, seriously, we should-..."

"No way! I'm making sure this works. Now please be that nice and continue!"

"O-okay..."  
He was prepared for it the next time and let Taiga's finger inside much more relaxed.

"Hey, it's easier!" the redhead also noticed, but kept his slow pace while Daiki tried his best to not clench around him again. But again after more than half of the finger was inside him, it started to hurt which caused him to tense.

"You alright?" Taiga asked him worried, leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

"Yeah... Just wait a bit..."  
Daiki slowly got used to the new feeling, but he still felt no pleasure. Was this really working? Where they doing something wrong?  
Taiga carefully started to move his finger inside Daiki without pushing it in farther, grazing his walls.

"Fuck!" he suddenly jolted as Taiga's finger managed to touch a specific spot.

"Daiki, you okay? Did I hurt you??" the redhead asked startled.

"J-just do that again..."  
He moaned another time when Taiga's finger brushed his prostate.

"S-shit, that's it!" Daiki gasped when his boyfriend concentrated on that spot and started to massage it.

"Oh, seems like I found it," Taiga grinned, having noticed Daiki's dick hardening all over again.

"Damn, Taiga..." he moaned as the other started to push in and out of him, hitting his prostate with every thrust. The knot in his stomach was tightening and he started grinding on Taiga again while pumping the redhead's cock.

"More..." he gasped, the pleasure growing even intenser when his boyfriend added another finger and Daiki felt his hole widening.

"Daiki..." Taiga panted and the other saw black for a short moment when the redhead thrusted three fingers inside him. Daiki moaned loudly and orgasmed the next second as he clenched around Taiga's fingers, cumming inside the water with the redhead.

"Fuck..." Daiki gasped for air, his arms wrapped around Taiga tightly as they both tried to relax again. The redhead was panting into his ear, hugging Daiki with the same amount of force. The other felt how his body slowly lost its tension and his arms loosened a bit around Taiga. They stayed like this for a while, using the time to calm down. The redhead moved one hand up to his nape, rubbing it soothingly while starting to place soft kisses on Daiki's face.

Daiki closed his eyes, enjoying the gentle treatment. He could fall asleep right this moment...  
Laying his head down on Taiga's chest he inhaled deeply, humming satisfied.

"Hey, stay awake," Taiga laughed quietly, combing through Daiki's hair with his fingers.

"Fine," the other yawned, lifting his head again to look into the redhead's eyes.

"You're so beautiful, you know that? I want to do this again with you..." Daiki murmured with half-lidded eyes and watched how Taiga's pupils widened.

"You're cute. I also want to do this again," he smiled at him with red cheeks.

"The next time I want your dick, though... Now would be even better..." Daiki wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing his boyfriend to blush like crazy.

"B-but we don't have condoms and lube a-and we still don't know if it's okay underwater! What if you get some weird infection?!"

"Oh, come on, you're worrying way too much. Besides Madam Pomfrey can take care of any kind of disease!" Daiki rolled his eyes, but was flattered by the redhead's concernment. Taiga arched his eyebrows smugly.

"Yeah? So you're going to the hospital wing to tell Madam Pomfrey you had sex with your boyfriend and now your ass isn't feeling well?"

"Shut up!" Daiki growled embarrassed, splashing water into the other's face.

"I'm not even done, yet!" Taiga cleared his throat awkwardly.

"We just did it now for the first time, i-it won't be good for you to strain yourself like this again! You could get seriously hurt! A-also, I know you managed three fingers, but that's-... It'll be something else if I... You know??" he stuttered, looking at the other worried. He was too cute like this, Daiki had to smile.

"Alright, alright, since I don't want to give you a heart attack, I'll listen to you for once," he teased him, kissing his nose.

"That doesn't mean I'm done with you, though..." Daiki smirked before capturing Taiga's lips with his own, immediately opening his mouth to use his tongue. The redhead responded eagerly and they just kissed for the next ten minutes, changing angles, licking and biting until their lips were slightly swollen and glistening with saliva. Their bodies moved against each other, Daiki's cock being hard again as he sucked on Taiga's tongue, swallowing his moans.

"How about a blowjob?" he purred seductively when they parted for a moment, their faces being less than an inch apart.

"You'll drown..." Taiga deadpanned, although he was breathing quickly and his face was even redder than before.

"Nah, I meant outside the bathtub..." Daiki winked, teasingly shoving his hand between the redhead's thighs to feel his erection and gently squeeze his balls. Taiga inhaled sharply, his grip onto Daiki tightening.

"We should get out anyways, the water is dirty after all," he said with a small gasp. Daiki grinned before standing up to get a towel. Taiga followed him, stroking his wet hair out of his face when Daiki suddenly wrapped his towel around his boyfriend's neck. When the redhead cocked one eyebrow, the other started to wipe his chest.

"What? Can't I dry my future husband's perfect body?" Daiki smirked cheekily.

"Oh, I know you well enough to hear through these words that you're just taking this as an opportunity to grope me..." Taiga sighed, but let the other do as he pleased.

"Dude, I love it when your nipples are hard!" Daiki only commented, twirling them between his thumb and index finger.

"You're an idiot," Taiga moaned when his boyfriend moved his head down to lick his nipples while wiping his stomach with the towel. Daiki especially took his time to rub it along his inner thighs, of course not without paying Taiga's dick attention, too.

"Wow, look at that _amazing_ ass..." he whispered hoarsely after he'd thrown the towel away to place his hands on his boyfriend's butt cheeks.

"You're the worst..." Taiga grunted when Daiki continued to squeeze his ass.

"Oh, you haven't seen the best of me, yet!" he snorted, turning around to snatch another towel.

"Are you fucking serious..." the redhead groaned when his boyfriend showed him proudly how he was able to hang the towel over his dick.

"I bet you can't do that with your micro cock!"  
Taiga pulled up his brows at that.

"Heh, you're on..."

"Try me!"

After five minutes of who could handle the most towels, they were kissing again, having agreed on a draw after a bit of arguing, or rather dirty flirting. Daiki had sat down on a cushioned chair next to the bathtub with Taiga in his lap, fully aware of the fact that the chair was originally meant for clothes. The redhead moaned when Daiki decided to leave a hickey on his collarbone, his lips sucking on the soft skin.

"Daiki...?" Taiga asked, his voice cracking when the other was leaving another mark on him.

"Yeah?" Daiki whispered, licking his boyfriend's earlobe before kissing the inside of his ear.

"I... I just thought that... You were giving me a blowjob the last time, s-so I can do it too..." he muttered awkwardly.

"You mean it?" Daiki asked surprised, feeling a tad too excited.

"Y-yeah, why not..." The redhead looked away in embarrassment.

"And I know this sounds perverted, but... I- I want to taste you..."

"Seriously?" Daiki stared at him slightly startled, feeling how he got aroused even more. Taiga nodded with a red face before getting on his knees.

"Are you sure? I mean your were babbling about safety and stuff the whole time..."

"I know, but... I just love you so much..." the redhead smiled shyly.

"Woah..." Daiki blushed, almost sure that he was able to cum from Taiga's words only. The redhead seemed a bit unsure at first, just like Daiki had been in the locker room. Taiga placed one hand around the base of Daiki's cock before carefully settling his lips on the tip. The other was celebrating inwardly, now he could die happily with the stunning view given to him. His dream had come true; his ultra cute, sexy and handsome boyfriend was going to suck his dick. Daiki made a lewd noise when Taiga's tongue was daringly lapping his slit that was covered with precum.

"Taiga...!" he moaned as the other opened his mouth and slowly closed his lips around him. Daiki shuddered at the intense feeling of being inside his boyfriend's mouth. It was warm and wet around his cock and Daiki gasped when Taiga made use of his tongue which began to move back and forth. He squeezed his eyes together when the redhead took him a bit deeper, causing Daiki to grab Taiga's shoulders at the immense feeling. The next moment he flinched when the other's teeth accidently scraped the sensitive skin.

"S-shit, I'm sorry..." Taiga quickly apologized after having pulled back. Daiki's heart was beating crazily when he looked at his boyfriend. He knew he wouldn't last long when seeing the other's flushed face and a string of saliva connecting his lips with Daiki's dick. His breathing fastened as he watched how the redhead closed his mouth around him again while pleasuring himself with one hand.

"Tai...ga..." A pleasured cry left Daiki's lips when Taiga managed to take him even deeper than before and started to suck. Daiki knew he came way too early and without a warning when he got squeezed by the insides of the redhead's mouth.

"Damn, I'm sorry!" He quickly pulled out when Taiga began coughing at the sudden liquid filling his throat. Daiki kneeled down, cupping the other's face concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm fine..." Taiga's voice sounded a bit rough, but he was smiling at his boyfriend who was blushing due to the fact that the redhead had seriously swallowed his cum. Catching the other by surprise, Daiki closed in to kiss him, although he could taste himself on Taiga's tongue, but it didn't matter to him.

"You're hella sexy," Daiki smirked when the other looked at him with slightly widened eyes.

"Oh, uhm... You too," he chuckled nervously.

"You should still wash your mouth, though. I really don't want you to get sick." Daiki lovingly ruffled his boyfriend's hair.

"Now you're the one caring about _safety and stuff..._ " Taiga grinned.

"No, but I care about you!"

"That's the same," the redhead laughed, walking over to the sinks.

"And this time it's on you to make it look like no one was here..." he added with laughter, causing Daiki to roll his eyes amused.

The latter one yawned when watching the bathtub's used water vanishing into the drain before focusing on Taiga who wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"What's up, my man?" Daiki hummed and turned around in the other's arms, hugging him back.

"Hmm, just tired." Taiga closed his eyes, laying his head on Daiki's shoulder.

"Me too... We'll probably get only four hours of sleep when we go back..."

"Ugh, don't remind me..." the redhead sighed.

"You're so warm..." he then mumbled, holding him even closer.

"Well, I may be warm, but you're hot! Especially after that fucking fantastic blowjob!" Daiki joked teasingly, he could almost feel his boyfriend blushing.

"Y-yeah? Was it that good?" he muttered embarrassed.

"More than good, just like I said! You're cute!" Daiki chuckled, resting his forehead against Taiga's.

"I'm not cute..." the redhead replied, but smiled nevertheless.

"Yes, you are," the other hummed amused, his gaze lowering on Taiga's lips.

"I'm not..." Taiga whispered.

"I know, I know..." Daiki looked him in the eyes one last time before finally closing the gap between them, kissing his boyfriend softly. The touch of his lips was tender and gentle, different from before. Daiki's eyelids fluttered close as he enjoyed the sweet kiss. He knew it sounded kitschy, but he was thinking that the love they were sharing couldn't even be put into words. It was an invisible bond drawing them to each other, quickening their heartbeats when they were close.  
Taiga raised his hand to caress his cheek and Daiki leaned into the touch, taking his other hand to kiss his knuckles.

"I'm going to fall asleep any moment," Daiki muttered lowly, his eyes still closed.

"In that case we should go back." Taiga kissed his boyfriend's hair with a smile before throwing his clothes at him, effectively freeing Daiki from his tired-romantic phase.

* * *

It happened when they got dressed that they were once again disturbed by someone else. A slightly nasal voice that Daiki recognized after a bit of thinking interrupted them.

"Oh, wow, look at this..."   
He had to look up to see the Moaning Myrtle leering at them through her big round glasses.

"Wah!" Taiga shrieked at the sudden presence of the ghost, quickly covering his crotch since he was only wearing his underwear while Daiki groaned loudly. The night had been so perfect until now...

"And there it is, Aomine! You're already annoyed although I didn't do anything! No one likes me, not even when I'm dead!" the Moaning Myrtle started to wail. Taiga was hiding behind Daiki's back by now, holding his shoulders in a firm grip.

"This one's afraid of ghosts or what!? Or are you just hiding because of my ugliness?? Oh, I knew it!" she screeched, hovering right in front of them.

"Alright, Myrtle, what are you doing in such a place like this?" Daiki asked the ghost gruffly, feeling extremely unwell at the thought of her having watched them the whole time.

"I'm here quite often, it's fun to stalk naked boys. What would you do if you were a ghost that no one cares for?"

"So you were _stalking_ us?!" Taiga decided to speak up, slowly overcoming his fear of ghosts.

"I just came here, but I saw you kissing..." Myrtle narrowed her eyes. Daiki sighed, it seemed like they had been alone before, also much to Taiga's relief.

"What's it? Did I come too late? Have I missed the best part?? People go here at night to do more than kissing after all... What a shame I wasn't here earlier, this would've been the most interesting thing since 1943." The former Hogwarts student pursed her lips before focusing on Daiki again who'd decided to let her talk for a while until she'd get bored and leave them alone.

"That's big news, though! Daiki Aomine is gay! The Chosen One is gay! The Boy Who Lived is gay! That'll be screamed through the entire wizarding world! And they will all hate you like everyone hates me!" Her voice grew louder and Daiki was actually scared that someone else might hear them, maybe Filch who was walking around in the corridors.

"Stop it! Why don't you just leave us alone?" Taiga shouted at her infuriated.

"Ohoh, and who's the one Aomine is gay for? An impudent brat in boxer shorts that looks like a troll?"

"Hey!"

"Are you serious, Aomine? Do my feelings for you mean nothing?!" the Moaning Myrtle glowered at Daiki, her voice shrill and loud.

"What the hell, is a freaking _ghost_ in love with you?!" Taiga blinked at the two unbelieving.

"Ugh, let's just go..." Daiki growled, grabbing Taiga's hand.

"Ignoring me, that's how you do it?? You'll regret dating that brat! By tomorrow the whole school will now that you're gay!" the ghost screeched, causing Daiki to freeze. That would be bad... Although he was sure no one would believe Myrtle, since no one paid attention to her, it would be awful if she screamed it through the whole school combined with Haizaki's rumours.

"What do you want?" Daiki snarled annoyed.

"I won't tell anyone if you two come here more often!"

"Eh..." Taiga expressed his confusion, furrowing his brows.

"I'm bored, you're great entertainment. Two boys are more interesting than a normal couple after all..." she moped.

"Fine, but we're going now, see you, Myrtle!" Daiki threw a glance at Taiga to tell him to hurry up getting into his pyjama.

"It's a promise then! But first, red haired troll-... Huh?" The ghost suddenly stopped babbling, closing in to Taiga to stare at his startled face.

"You're weird. You're different. What are you?" Her transparent body was floating around him, the redhead seemingly having caught her interest.

"What are you? What are you?" she repeated.

" _Where_ are you?!" Myrtle screeched when Daiki threw the Invisibility cloak over the two of them to finally escape. He took Taiga's hand to guide him back to the exit, leaving through the secret door.

"You mean bastards! Don't you have any respect?" the ghost yelled after them.

"Oof, that was exhausting," Daiki groaned after entering the dark corridor again.

"I never thought that ghosts could be that... utterly annoying," Taiga grunted with a sigh.

"Yeah, that's the right word. Luckily she won't follow us here, only the bathrooms are haunted by her..."

"What about that weird promise then to come back?" The redhead scrunched his eyebrows.

"Ugh, not happening. No one will listen to her anyways if she decides to tell everyone that we're together..." Daiki sighed tiredly, laying one hand on Taiga's cheek while watching out to not drop the coat covering them.

"Well, except what happened just now, it was nice with you in there..." Taiga smiled at him softly.

"In there? You mean inside my ass?" Daiki smirked cockily, starting to stroke the other's cheek.

"In the bathroom, you pervert!" the redhead blushed.

"Oh, I _recently_ found out that you can be quite the pervert, too..." Daiki teased him.

"S-Shut up! That's the consequence of being alone with you, so it may have rubbed off on me!"

"Yeah, yeah..." the other chuckled, leaning forward to kiss his boyfriend on the lips. Taiga yawned after a few minutes of silent kissing, snuggling into Daiki and wrapping his arms around his body.

"I take this as a sign to get you into your bed," Daiki laughed quietly, petting the other's head.

"Hmm..." the other hummed drowsily.

"Woah, but don't fall asleep just now, I'm not that eager to carry you!"

"That's not what you call a considerate boyfriend..." Taiga pouted, causing Daiki to roll his eyes with a smile before shortly kissing him again. Even he felt how his eyes refused to stay open any longer, so the two made their way back to the sleeping dorm, each of them grinning tiredly.

Leaving out the encounter with the Moaning Myrtle, their night had been a total success in Daiki's opinion. He could still feel the blush lingering on his face as he thought about it, hiding under his blanket. Hopefully he'll get enough sleep before the next weekend (detention with Snape...) would kill them.


	34. The Yule Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The calm before the storm.

"I'm really sorry to wake you up like this, Daiki, but Snape is going to cut your head off otherwise."  
Daiki thought for a moment he was dreaming those words before two small hands pushed him out of his bed, making him hit the floor.

"Tetsu, you bastard!!" Daiki roared through the entire sleeping dorm, being fully awake the moment his face collided with the ground.

"Shut the fuck up, Aomine, it's fucking Saturday!!" Wakamatsu yelled back with the same voice volume, causing Furihata to pull the blanket over his head while hugging his stupid Puffapod.

"Ugh... What's up...? It's the middle of the night," Taiga groaned from the bed next to Daiki's.

"It's seven o'clock!!" Wakamatsu corrected him.

"So shut your fucking mouth, Aomine! It's not my fault you two have to detain every fucking weekend!!" he added while Taiga was still groaning into his pillow.

"I'd prefer it if you stop cursing, Wakamatsu..." Tetsuya sighed somewhere in the background.

"So there you are, Tetsu! _No one_ throws _the_ Daiki Aomine out of his bed just like that!!"   
Tetsuya quickly fled after Daiki had spotted him, his low presence being a big advantage in this situation.

* * *

"It's too early..." Taiga was rubbing his eyes when he, Daiki and Tetsuya went down into the Great Hall. The redhead was stumbling and almost falling due to his tiredness, but luckily Daiki managed to catch him. At least he thought so, until he realized that Taiga was too heavy and they both fell. Tetsuya shook his head with a smile.

"Ugh... now I'm awake," the redhead grunted, holding his forehead.

"You don't have to tell me that," Daiki groaned, standing up again.

"Well, it's your fault since you two decided to sneak out in the middle of the night," Tetsuya commented somehow smugly, causing Daiki to narrow his eyes at him.

"How comes you're always awake when we are?" he huffed, but Tetsuya shrugged.

"Not that I'm taking it as offense, but I heard how you two called me a sneaky bastard once..." he deadpanned. The other two were about to groan loudly, but the short wizard decided to go on.

"You're both cute when you're talking about marriage the whole night, though..."

"What the fuck?! Is this the Satsuki virus? The Satsuki gene?! Is it contagious?!" Daiki yelled unbelieving.

"Daiki, I don't think genes are contagious..." Taiga threw in, looking like he wasn't really sure of it himself.

"Whatever!" Daiki shrugged it off, slightly pissed at this annoying morning and it won't be better with Snape later on. But during breakfast, all he could do was staring at Taiga who was making a pile of toasts on his plate. Damn, he was so attractive with that smile of his, those bright and joyful eyes, his red hair that was still disheveled from sleep. Daiki didn't know how often he'd thought that already, but he couldn't deny anymore that he was practically addicted to Taiga. The last night together had proven it just again, Daiki could kiss him for hours with no way to get bored.

He was so absorbed with him that he didn't even notice anymore when Romilda Vane would sit down a few places next to him like she did now. Although he wasn't listening to her or Tetsu who was telling him to stop staring at Taiga, Romilda gained his interest as she suddenly mentioned the Moaning Myrtle. What was up with that freaking ghost? Did she already spread rumours? Apparently yes, Daiki noted, listening with one ear to the conversation.

"I can't believe that this looney ghost showed up again. And now she's telling everyone that Aomine likes boys... She's gone completely crazy," one of Romilda's friends giggled. Daiki sighed relieved, he already suspected it would be like this.

"Pfff, seriously? It's no secret that Aomine prefers boobs over a pretty face! And now he's supposed to be into guys?" another one snorted while Daiki gave his best to not turn around and glare at them. They were completely wrong after all, first, he _did_ have a boyfriend, second, said one definitely had no boobs, and third, he wasn't even that pretty...  
With one look at Taiga he had to change his mind again, his smile was pretty, his eyes were pretty, his face-... Daiki knew he had it bad...

"Wouldn't that be cute, though? Just imagine the mighty and arrogant Aomine being in love with someone like Kagami..."   
Oof, Daiki felt the blood rushing to his face in a blink of an eye. The Satsuki virus, he knew it! But still, it wasn't settling to him that he was depicted as arrogant and perverted the whole time. Hadn't he been awfully popular with girls?? He grumbled quietly before Romilda spoke up again.

"That's weird, but funny if it were true!" she laughed. Daiki was close to hit his head on the table. Weren't they even noticing that he almost sat right next to them?? He concentrated on Taiga again who was being the oblivious idiot he knew, still munching on his toasts while chatting happily with Tetsuya. Daiki rolled his eyes with a smile at the redhead's odd eating habits which consisted of stuffing everything into his mouth before chewing once or twice and gulping it down. It was a mystery to Daiki how someone could enjoy eating that much.

"Daiki, what's up? You're unusually quiet." Taiga furrowed his brows at him, letting their hands brush under the table.

"Tired," he yawned which wasn't exactly wrong, considering the dark bags under his eyes. He briefly squeezed Taiga's hand to tell him he was fine before also continuing to eat.

In the end they had to hurry to not be late for detention, they knew Snape had no mercy and was going to get them one step closer to hell instead.

Detention occured to be utterly boring. The only sound in the room were quills scratching on paper and tortured sighs once in a while. Daiki's only distraction were his memories of last night, although his facial expression was a bit suspicious every time he thought about his and Taiga's alone time. Also, it wouldn't be that advantageous if he'd pop a boner while supposed to write another essay about Bowtruckles...  
So he reluctantly banned all pictures from his head of him and Taiga in the bathtub, enduring the never-ending hours of detention.

One week before the infamous Yule Ball, Daiki was in a bad mood. Not just because he and Taiga got asked quite often by girls if they could dance with them, but also because he hadn't had the chance to do something with his boyfriend again. No one would leave them alone somehow, and they also didn't want to sneak into a bathroom another night because of the Moaning Myrtle. The only time where he could kiss Taiga was at night when either he or the redhead would climb into the other's bed to cuddle.

He also wasn't looking forward to the Yule Ball, even though it wasn't completely obvious, some people threw him and Taiga weird looks, mostly Slytherins. Daiki knew Haizaki definitely was behind that and he'd have another prove if the two would be together at the damn Ball, especially after they got asked by so many girls and had rejected every time...  
He just hoped Taiga wasn't that eager to dance with him, they'd both probably sit in the corner of the Great Hall anyways while emptying the buffets.

Except the Yule Ball, something else was constantly being on his mind. They'd leave Hogwarts soon, without knowing how long they'll be gone, without knowing all the risks and dangers of their journey. But he was sure that as long as he had Taiga on his side, he'd succeed in everything.  
Satsuki also got more excited with every day, nodding towards the others involved into their plan to make it clear that they'd depart soon. She and Akashi would often meet in the evening at the library to go through their plans over and over again.  
Taiga was reaching for Daiki's hand more often these days, even he seemed to be concerned or almost scared to leave Hogwarts behind. Daiki hugged him closely every night, telling him that everything would be alright, that they were just going to save the wizarding world and be back again. He'd smile at him to calm him down and the redhead did so in return.

* * *

When Daiki woke up on a Friday, his body was tingling all over.  
It was today.  
Today they'd depart.  
Still, the Yule Ball was the more threatening obstacle in his eyes. He felt like he should've prepared for this day, but now he was sitting in his bed, a bit overwhelmed by everything that was going to happen this evening.  
He looked over to Taiga who was staring at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face, and Daiki recognized fear in his eyes.

"Hey, Taiga," he whispered and when the redhead turned towards him with a smile, that look was gone.

"It's today, right?" Taiga asked.

"Yeah. It's today."

Even though everyone already seemed to be preparing for the Yule Ball, all students still had to attend classes.   
_Such an event won't free you from any lessons necessary for you to become a decent wizard or witch one day,_ like professor McGonagall mouthed during Transfiguration. It was no surprise that no one could concentrate, especially not Daiki and Taiga who both hadn't expected this day so fast to come.

Luckily, Satsuki managed to gather all of them for one last meeting in the library. Daiki noted how even Kise looked nervous and was fidgeting with his robe. Murasakibara seemed rather relaxed while Midorima made a drop dead serious face.

"Listen, guys, you must be ready for this. Once we're gone, we can't go back that easily. We're getting caught anyways in the end, maybe we'll even be expelled from Hogwarts. It's on us to decide if we use this as a chance to save the whole wizarding world or not!" Satsuki announced sternly.

"M-may I say that I'm not quite ready...?" Kise cheeped, slightly shivering.

"It's still in the afternoon, we've got plenty of time, Kise-chin," Murasakibara yawned, patting Kise's back.

"Not exactly, but you should use these few hours to pack everything you need!" Midorima replied.

"Fine, but not everyone has that monstrous bag like Satsuki where even an elefant would fit inside!" Daiki huffed.

"Then I'll take care of your stuff, dumbass," Satsuki rolled her eyes, causing her friend to grumble.

"I even organized enough tents for everyone, we won't have it that bad!" she added.

"Saint your limitless bag..." Daiki joked, smirking when he heard Taiga stifling his laughter next to them.

"What about the Pegasus? Will it show up?" Akashi threw in.

"We don't know. But since we've heard nothing from it, it's most unlikely for it to appear tonight. We can't even be sure if it knows where we want to head. We'll probably have to use a few more broomsticks, although that will slow us down with no one else having a Firebolt or Thunderbolt VII like Daiki and Taiga," she let out an exasperated sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before looking into the round again.

"And the Griffin?" Akashi gazed at Tetsuya.

"Hagrid lets me see it quite often, I think I can handle it." Tetsuya nodded seriously.

"Alright, now please remember the following plan. We'll leave the Yule Ball at midnight successively, without drawing anyone's attention. Each of you will head into their sleeping dorm to change and get your stuff. Tetsuya and Akashi, you will be the first ones leaving the ball. You'll sneak to the paddocks to steal the Griffin, then you have to wait at the courtyard for the others. I'll have an eye on everything, so no one needs to worry. I'm more than sure this will work!" Satsuki looked at them determined and Daiki was certain how everyone was feeling that she got their plan under control, that she'd do everything to succeed.

"And remember, stay inconspicuous." Akashi's gaze seemed to linger on Daiki and Taiga a bit longer than on the others.

"By the way..." Midorima suddenly cleared his throat, obviously wanting to change the topic.

"Aomine, is it seriously true that you and Kagami-..."

"Midorimacchi, no!!" Kise shrieked startled, throwing himself on the green haired boy to prevent him from talking.

"Kise..." Daiki growled, glaring at the blonde with all his might.

"Eh, what's going on?" Murasakibara asked slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Aominecchi! I really tried to keep it to myself, but I couldn't!!" Kise cried.

"Oh? You're lucky I still have to think about the most gruesome way to kill you!" Daiki grabbed him by the collar.

"So it's true?" Midorima furrowed his brows.

"What are you even talking about?" Murasakibara said once again.

"Well, since almost everyone knows it anyways, Daiki and Taiga are having a love affair," Akashi decided to answer with a faint sneer in his voice.

"Hey, it's not just a fucking affair!" Taiga protested, always getting provoked easily by Akashi.

"He's right! We're in a serious and honest relationship!" Daiki agreed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"That was... unexpected," Midorima mumbled bewilderedly.

"I know, goddamnit!!" Daiki slapped one hand down on the table.

"Guys, please calm down!" Satsuki sighed, but got ignored.

"You're gay, Mine-chin? Am I dreaming? This is weird..." Murasakibara scrunched his brows.

"Alright, we got that! And it's absolutely nothing of your business, okay?" Taiga decided to speak up.

"Although it's unusual for you to like a guy like him, Aomine, I won't be in your way. Do what you want," Midorima nodded towards them.

"But you'll also be at their wedding, right??" Kise threw in, his eyes sparkling again even though Daiki had promised to kill him a five minutes ago.

"You already have marriage plans?" Murasakibara gaped at them.

"I'm not impolite, so of course I'll come if your relationship is stable until then," Midorima pushed up his glasses.

"That's so nice, Midorin! Ki-chan and I  have so much in mind already!" Satsuki smiled.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this is not what matters right now! I hope Daiki will understand soon that he can't be together with Taiga, but the rest of us should concentrate on our mission!" Akashi intervened slightly angered. Daiki scowled at him, grabbing the redhead's hand in protest.

"I know you have your conflicts, but everything is fine the way it is right now!" Satsuki also replied, and that was final.

* * *

"Dai-chan, Taiga, hurry up! We're going to be late!!" Satsuki impatiently knocked on the door to the boys' sleeping dorm like crazy. Daiki groaned loudly, laying in his bed while having watched everyone around him changing for the Yule Ball. Now only he and Taiga were left, having told the others to go without them. But apparently Satsuki wasn't as easy to trick, she was going to make sure to drag the idiots down to the Great Hall for the Ball. She'd even threatened to use force in the case they've been planning to stay inside their dorm alone while everyone else was having fun and dancing.

"Alright, Satsuki, we're coming!" he finally responded, heaving himself up with a sigh while watching how Taiga was looking at himself in the mirror, already wearing his Dress Robe.

"Hey, sexy," Daiki smirked, throwing his arms around his formally clothed boyfriend.

"Aho, you better get dressed too before Satsuki is going to kill us..." the redhead huffed, adjusting his messily bound tie.

"What?! You're not even wearing your Dress Robe yet, Dai-Chan??" Satsuki shouted through the door indignantly.

"Fine, you meanies! I've waited long enough! If you're not coming down in fifteen minutes, I'll cut your heads off! Let's go, Tetsuya!"

"Ugh, so annoying," Daiki groaned, resisting the urge to throw himself on his bed again.

"Fucking Kise. I knew he couldn't keep it to himself..." he grumbled.

"Well, what did you expect. At least the others seem neutral about it," Taiga responded, still fighting with his tie.

"Neutral? Nice word for someone like Akashi..."

" _Except_ Akashi."

"Whatever, as long as no one is acting towards us like Haizaki, it should be fine." Daiki sighed when observing how his boyfriend untied the tie again before almost strangling himself with it.

"Hey, Tiger, give that to me." He snatched the stripe of fabric out of the other's grip.

"Straighten up, you idiot," Daiki then smirked, patting the other's shoulders before laying the tie around his neck. He was a bit closer than necessary when he bound it correctly, letting their foreheads touch.

"I have the feeling it's not going to look different from before..." Taiga hummed with a smile on his lips, looking at Daiki whose eyes were cast down.

"Oh, shut up, I've been practicing," Daiki muttered due to the close proximity.

"Seriously? Just so you can bind my tie?" Taiga's eyebrows vanished behind his hairline.

"Believe it or not, that was my objection..."  
Taiga shook his head amusedly.

"You're cute."

"Oh, but I know someone who's twice as cute!" Daiki teased him, looking into Taiga's eyes when he was done.

"Such a person doesn't exist," the redhead replied with an almost seductive smile that let Daiki's heart beat faster.

"In that case I wouldn't have a boyfriend..."

"Well, that's too bad," Taiga chuckled when their lips were only one inch apart.

"How much time do we have?" Daiki whispered hoarsely, clearly taking advantage of his deep voice.

"Dunno, ten minutes?" the redhead teasingly let his lips brush Daiki's.

"Then can we-..."

"Nope, just kissing! That rule didn't change!" Taiga laughed quietly, his arms around Daiki's waist.

"Booooring," the latter one drawled with a small smile, latching onto Taiga like a big, lazy cat.

"You should get changed too, I mean you haven't even looked at your Dress Robe!"

"No, no, no, you just offered me to kiss you for ten minutes, I can't let that chance slip!" Daiki replied, teasingly blowing air into Taiga's face, the other one closing his eyes in reflex. And they stayed closed when Daiki placed his lips on Taiga's, starting to kiss him softly. But soon enough they both moved more eagerly, their tongues darting out to lick the insides of the other's mouth. They adjusted to a pace they both enjoyed while holding each other close. Taiga once had to slap Daiki's hand away that had been about to sneak its way into the redhead's pants unnoticed. But he refused to give up yet as he shoved his hips into Taiga's for their groins to align while kissing him even hungrier than before.

"Woah, Daiki, hey," Taiga laughed as he had to push him away, wiping his mouth.

"I almost had you!" Daiki cocked his eyebrows with a smirk.

"Well, in contrary to you I'm fully able to control myself!"

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Daiki grinned, preparing another attack.

"Idiot, everyone will see that we kissed when we go down with red faces! And I'm serious when I say you should finally get dressed!" Taiga still laughed, dodging his clingy boyfriend whose heart was warmed by his sincere voice.

"Yes, Satsuki..." he yawned nevertheless, getting his crumpled Dress Robe from his drawer.

"This time you'll have to bind my tie, though."

"Daiki... I don't think that robe has a tie..." Taiga snorted when the other unfolded it.

"What do you mean... What the fuck is this?!?" he yelled.

"Are those ruffles?" Taiga bursted into laughter when Daiki could only stare at his Dress Robe in shock.

"I'm not gonna wear that," he stated flatly.

"Oh, please, I'm sure it'll be alright! Well, everyone is probably going to think you're in the wrong century, but at least no one else at the ball will look as fancy as you!"

"Fucking shit! Give me a pair of fucking scissors, I'm going to fucking cut those ruffles off!" Daiki almost roared while Taiga was close to throw himself to the ground with laughter.

"That's called karma! Definitely! Remember when you bought it without even looking at it because you're a stubborn idiot?"

"Shut up if you don't want me to castrate you with the scissors!" Daiki threatened him, desperately ripping off the white ruffles at his sleeves and collar.

"Oooh, now I'm scared!" Taiga failed to hold back his laughter once again.

"If you continue to laugh at me I swear I'm going to cut off your balls!"

"Didn't you want to have sex with me?" the redhead teased him with a smirk, causing Daiki to pout slightly offended.

"J-just help me with this..." he grumbled.

"You're making progress, look at that!" Taiga approached him with a smile, helping him inside the mistreatened Dress Robe that somehow had to be buttoned up.

"Let's go now!" the redhead grinned, pecking his lips before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the exit.

"You're way too eager for this!" Daiki grumbled.

"Don't be like that now, you look fine! A bit out of fashion, but you're _the_ Daiki Aomine, you need something special!" Taiga came to a halt again in the empty common room, his eyes shining with joy as he looked at his boyfriend. Daiki sighed, trying not to blush from the sincere grin the other gave him.

"If you really think so... But we're not going to dance!"

"Oh, we'll see!" Taiga gave him a quick kiss to persuade him.

"Maybe..."

"Let's do this then!" the redhead tried motivating him by shoving him towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Well, that was predictable!" she huffed as soon as the two exited the Gryffindor common room.

"There you are! I almost gave up my hope for you!" Satsuki's head shot up when Daiki and Taiga stepped into the Great Hall that was decorated with golden sparkling stuff and everything else that made Daiki want to leave again. At least the food seemed appropriate, there were huge cakes, muffins and all kinds of sweet, along with a few barrels of Butterbeer.

"Ah, uhm... yes," Daiki muttered as he already felt a lot of people staring at him.

"Dai-chan... What the hell happened to your Dress Robe?!" Satsuki asked shocked as she gazed down. Taiga began snorting while Tetsuya also tried not to laugh.

"It... It had ruffles..." he answered embarrassed, turning away from them.

"So you... decided to cut them off..." Tetsuya deadpanned.

"Just shut up, I don't need this right now!!" Daiki huffed, hitting Taiga on the back of his head for laughing at him again.

"Well, if you don't look close enough, it's alright," Satsuki sighed before turning to Tetsuya.

"I'd really like to dance now..." She blushed. The short wizard sent Daiki a look that screamed help, but the other was only grinning at him smugly, waving him off.

"The buffet is waiting for us!" Taiga clapped his hand on Daiki's back, guiding him towards the long tables with white tablecloths and stunning food on top.   
Unexpectedly, the eating part wasn't as enjoyable as Daiki had originally thought. He could still feel many students looking at him, and he hated to think that most of them were asking themselves who the girl was that was going to dance with him. He was nervous all of a sudden, he just couldn't be with Taiga in here. Daiki couldn't touch him the way he usually did, he couldn't dance with him. Otherwise everyone would know or at least assume why there was no girl. And Daiki didn't like that at all, he didn't want to come out like that, in front of the whole school with Haizaki insulting them as soon as he'd see the two.

"Hey, are you okay?" Taiga asked him softly, laying his hand on Daiki's for a moment. The latter one could only hope that no one else saw that loving look in the redhead's eyes as soon as he faced Daiki.

"Yeah, it's just... I don't like this..." he mumbled.

"We can go dancing! It'll make you feel better, I'm sure of it!" Taiga grabbed his hands with a big grin on his face, but even though that expression was warming Daiki's heart, he wasn't able to get rid of the lump in his throat.

"Taiga... I- We're already standing out too much, every boy is together with a girl and I don't want to... I don't want everyone to... judge you like that..." Daiki desperately tried to express himself.

"Oh..." Taiga dropped his hands to his sides.

"I understand, it's okay."  
Daiki had expected him to be disappointed or maybe a bit angry, but everything he saw in Taiga's face was understanding and pity. He really had to love Daiki.

"Thank you."  
Taiga just smiled at him.

"Don't worry, there'll be enough chances for us to dance in the future."

"Kagamicchi, Aominecchi! You're not dancing? That's too bad! Well, I have a problem too, that girl over there found out I got asked by five other ones to dance with me, and now they're all trying to kill me since I agreed to everyone..." Kise suddenly appeared, starting to whimper while looking around for his dancing partners.

"Idiot," Daiki scoffed, not exactly wanting Kise of all people to keep their company, said Barbie was now hiding behind the two.

"Oh my God, they saw me! I gotta go!" he shrieked when three girls suddenly began glaring at him, the other two probably already waiting for him to escape. Taiga shook his head slightly amused.

"At least we got him on our side," he grinned.

"Is that really a positive thing?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow.

"Good question!" the redhead laughed, taking his already tenth muffin.

"How are you able to stuff yourself like that?"

"Huh? Why do you keep asking that, I just like food!" Taiga shrugged, his hand going for another snack.

"You'll get fat one day," Daiki snorted.

"Nope, that will never happen!"

"Then you have an interesting metabolism."

"Wow, didn't expect you to know that word..." Taiga teased him, receiving a jab in his side.

"Then shut up and continue to eat, you black hole!" Daiki huffed, causing the other to laugh and quickly ruffle his hair.  
Their alone time didn't last long, many girls who didn't have a partner or had enough of their prior one were showing up and asked Daiki or Taiga to dance with them.

"Sorry, but I have to watch he doesn't eat too much," Daiki had to say once again, pointing at Taiga and sighing relieved when the girl turned away. Dancing with someone he didn't know instead of spending time with the one he loved (even though they were at the buffet for the whole time) wasn't as appealing to him. He thought that it would be nice to dance with Taiga, he really wanted to... But one look at the crowd made him feel ill.

"Man, I'm full," Taiga sighed next to him.

"And you almost convinced me that you could go on for hours..." Daiki hummed amused. Damn, he already wanted to kiss him again.

"Even I have a limit I guess. Sadly we don't have an excuse to not go dancing anymore."

"Right, this gets seriously annoying."

"I agree on that one," Taiga groaned when seeing another girl eyeing the two.

"You know what? We'll leave, we're not missing something anyway," Daiki suggested and the redhead nodded.

"True. The good stuff on the buffet is gone too."

"You're worrying about that?" Daiki smirked, making his way towards the exit.

"Wait, Dai-chan! Where are you going, you remember our plan, right?" Of course Satsuki had to stop them, she'd probably expected them to sneak away.

"Ah, it's okay, midnight at the courtyard, right?" Taiga grinned at her.

"Oh, don't you dare thinking you can get past me with that smile..."

"Satsuki, please! This just isn't the right place for us!" Daiki tried it too. Satsuki sighed, smoothing a few wrinkles out of her beautiful dress that was shining in the light of the many candles underneath the ceiling.

"If you really think so... It's just kind of a waste to not dance, you two would have looked so good together. At least promise me to be punctual later!"

"We will!" Taiga nodded eagerly, causing Satsuki to finally smile at them.

"I'm counting on you!" she stretched herself to pat both their heads before trying to find Tetsuya who'd probably used the moment to vanish inside the crowd of dancing people.

* * *

"Here we are again..." Daiki let himself fall on his bed when they entered the sleeping dorm, having been at the Yule Ball for solid thirty minutes.

"Well, it's kind of sad that everyone's down there while we bought or Dress Robes for nothing," Taiga sighed, hitting the blanket next to Daiki.

"Just say so if you want to go down again!" the latter one sulked.

"No way, we're lucky we didn't encounter Haizaki..."

"Ugh, let's not talk about that asshole right now."

"Right," Taiga laughed, propping himself up on one arm to look at Daiki.

"I have to say you're kind of erotic in your Dress Robe," Daiki hummed, scooting a bit closer to his boyfriend.

"Oh, thank you, king of perverts. I'd like to say the same about you, but you decided to torture your robe with a pair of scissors, so..."

"Hey, I was about to kiss you! You ruined it!" Daiki turned away offended.

"Oh no, don't be like this!" Taiga chuckled when his boyfriend turned around to face the other side.

"Come on, Daiki!" He wrapped his arms around the other from behind, nuzzling his face into his neck.

"You're not mad, are you?" Taiga frowned when the other didn't respond. But he was even more surprised when Daiki faced him again with a mischievous grin before shouting:  
"Tickling attack!"  
Taiga had no chance to react when Daiki pinned him down to shove his hands under his shirt to tickle him.

"No, Daiki, stop! Stop it, you idiot!" The redhead started to laugh uncontrollably, trying to move away from Daiki's hands.

"Daiki, please! I can't..." Taiga gasped for air, his laughter ringing in Daiki's ears which made him smile.

"Not my fault you're so ticklish!" He smirked when the other had managed to catch his hands and push him away.

"You... You idiot, I-... Great, now I have a hiccup!" he panted.

"Aww, and I'm not even sorry..." Daiki teased him, crossing his arms on Taiga's chest to lay his head down on him.

"Dude, your heartbeat!" he then snorted, feeling the other's chest heaving rapidly.

"No shit, we-... We can't even kiss as long as- ... As long as I can't breathe properly!" the redhead hiccuped, he was seriously cute like that.

"Let's find out," Daiki cupped Taiga's face before leaning down to kiss him on the mouth. The other tried to push him away, but persistent as he was, Daiki slipped his tongue between Taiga's lips as soon as the latter one opened them. But when he hiccuped again, Daiki quickly pulled back.

"Woah, shit, you almost bit off my tongue!"

"I warned you! And your tongue has nothing to do in my mouth!" Taiga pouted.

"Of course it has! It's the best when it comes to kissing! Seriously, I could suck faces with you all day, my tongue belongs nowhere else than inside your mouth!"

"Ugh, that sounded... disturbing..."

"It's the truth!"

"You know what? We-..." his voice hitched again.

"I think now that we fled from the Ball, we could dance here. Just the two of us..." Taiga muttered, looking at Daiki hesitantly.

"Are you serious? I'm terrible at dancing... And isn't it stupid without music?"

"If you'd be quiet, you can hear the music from the Great Hall!" Taiga took his hand to pull him up.

"Huh...? Hey, you're right, it's pretty faint, though," Daiki furrowed his brows.

"Didn't know you were deaf," Taiga grinned teasingly, dragging him to the middle of the room.

"Idiot." Daiki playfully pinched the other's nose.

"And now?" he asked when they just stood there, trying to listen to the music.

"You hold my hand like this and place the other one on my arm," Taiga directed him while settling his own hand on Daiki's waist.

"I don't like this, you're too far away!" Daiki grumbled as he grabbed Taiga's biceps.

"It's not supposed to be an erotic dance!" The redhead rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, how should I know, I'm not really into parties and balls..."

"You're not into balls?" Taiga arched one eyebrow with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, shut up, you know what I mean! Fucking plural forms..." Daiki blushed while the redhead just smiled at him.

"And wait, I'm dancing as the woman right now, am I?" he added with a glare.

"Yeah, so what's the problem?" his boyfriend teased him again.

"There's no way I'm dancing as the woman!!"

"Are you that insecure about your manliness, Daiki?"

"The hell, I've got the largest cock of the whole school!"

"Uhuh... yeah, totally," Taiga agreed sarcastically.

"Heh, you know I'm right! You can be the second one in this ranking!" Daiki bragged.

"Didn't know you're that embittered. But fine, there's another way to dance." The redhead rolled his eyes before letting go of Daiki.

"Put your hands on my shoulders," he ordered and Daiki did so, feeling Taiga's arms around his middle.

"Isn't this-..."

"Now be quiet and listen to the music!" Taiga interrupted him, smiling when there was a slow song playing.

"And now?" Daiki whispered a bit annoyed.

"Now we're just moving, you can close your eyes if you want to. And when you got the right feeling, you can come a bit closer," the redhead explained as he started to sway them from one side to the other.

"Alright, if that's how dancing works," Daiki mumbled, letting Taiga take the lead when he closed his eyes.

"Your hiccup is gone," he added lowly.

"That was slow," Taiga snorted, reducing the distance between them a bit. The other smiled, letting go of the redhead's shoulders to pull him even closer and embrace him completely. They were enjoying the close proximity, still listening to the quiet music. Taiga laid his head on Daiki's shoulder, and Daiki did so in return, inhaling his boyfriend's calming scent.

"I love you," he whispered as quiet as he could, his eyes still closed. Daiki didn't know he was able to fall in love that heavily, but Taiga was the one, and he'd _never_ let go of him. He'd make sure to always stay at his side, to protect him, to take care of him, to see him smiling every day. It was funny how fast his heart was beating, how his stomach was tingling, how he felt like sparks were exploding inside him.

"I love you too," Taiga whispered back and Daiki's heart was fluttering in his chest. He hugged him tighter, wishing to stay like this forever. That moment was something special, something he'd keep in his memories, something that made him truly feel how much in love he was. He'd completely lost his heart to Taiga, it was his now and he knew the other would take good care of it. That was his Taiga, a pure and sincere idiot, kind, forgiving and soft, a boy who loved Daiki with everything he got.

But even though that moment felt like eternity, Daiki didn't know that was the last time he'd see Taiga through those eyes.


	35. The Room of Requirement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to upload this, I was already busy writing the next chapter xD  
> This one has quite the change...

"What time is it?" Taiga mumbled tiredly, laying next to Daiki on his bed after they stopped dancing and got rid of their Dress Robes.

"How should I know? But I don't think it's midnight yet," Daiki grumbled, holding his boyfriend in his arms.

"You don't _think_ so?" Taiga chuckled, playing with the hem of Daiki's shirt.

"Surprise, even I have a brain that can think..."

"Wow, what a discovery!"

"Hey, you're way too cheeky this evening!" Daiki pinched him playfully.

"It's just fun to tease you somehow... You're always acting like the ultra cool and disinterested guy, but the truth is that you're kind of sweet," Taiga grinned at him, laying his head on his boyfriend's shoulder, his nose brushing his jawline.

"Nope, I totally _am_ the cool and tough guy with that scar on his forehead, and it's my job to tease you!" Daiki protested, running his fingers through Taiga's deep red hair.

"I know, I know," the redhead mumbled, letting out a satisfied noise when Daiki continued to stroke his head.

"By the way, we're alone for quite the time, can't we-..."

"No." Taiga interrupted him.

"Aww, man, why not?" Daiki tried again.

"This is our sleeping dorm, and even though it's most unlikely, someone can come in any second! And it won't help to just lock the door, anyone can use Alohomora since their first grade. Also, I'm tired... You're so warm, I don't want to stop cuddling with you..." Taiga pouted towards the end.

"You're lucky you're so cute," Daiki sighed, kissing his boyfriend's forehead.

"I'm not."

"Yeah, yeah, we had that already..." He placed one hand on Taiga's cheek before leaning in for their lips to touch. They kissed softly for a while, both of them feeling a bit tired. Daiki was stroking the other's cheek with his thumb while Taiga was hugging him tightly and entangled their legs.

"I don't want to leave Hogwarts. It's so nice here..." the redhead muttered suddenly.

"Me neither. But we can't back off now, the world we know won't exist anymore if Voldemort gets the Time-Turner," Daiki responded, taking Taiga's hand to bring it up to his lips.

"B-but what if we're to late? I don't want to lose you!" he whispered painfully.

"Hey, you won't lose me, alright?" Daiki tried comforting him, pushing his boyfriend's head against his chest soothingly.

"What if-..."

"Even _if_ he manages to turn the time and kill me, you'd do everything to get me back, right?"  
He felt Taiga nodding.

"And what if I can't remember?" the redhead shuddered.

"What do you mean?" Daiki furrowed his brows concerned.

"That Time-Turner makes things undone, so if Voldemort kills you, I'd forget of your existence..."  
He was quiet for a moment, he didn't know that Taiga had been thinking about everything that much.

"That won't happen. I promise."

"I'm sorry for killing the mood..." Taiga hid his face between the blanket and Daiki's shirt.

"It's fine. You're just worrying too much which is a good thing!" Daiki motivated him, rubbing his back reassuringly.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," he smiled shyly at him, and Daiki wondered once again how he could be that cute.

"Hey, when we're about to leave, let's have a race with our broomsticks!" Daiki grinned at the redhead whose eyes were full of determination the next second.

"You're on!"

"Oh, I see, the fiery Tiger is back!" He laughed, ruffling the other's hair.

"That's a weird nickname," Taiga snorted, his eyes squeezed together in joy. How could someone not love him? His smile was already making people crazy, Daiki was sure he'd have to fight off some love rivals in the future. Taiga was a gift from heaven, he was someone who gave his life a real sense again, someone who lightened up his world.

How could Daiki have ever hurt him?  
Even though it was very hard to see, there still were thin, faint lines visible on his skin, causing Daiki to feel bad every time he saw them. But Taiga always pretended they weren't there, saying that he'd already forgiven Daiki, so he wouldn't feel guilty anymore. And he was thankful for that.  
Because of the incident, he suddenly remembered the book under his bed, the book of the Half-Blood Prince that had caused all the pain.

"Daiki, what's up? Did you fall asleep with your eyes open?" Taiga was snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"No, I just... When we're leaving everyone will search for us, and they'll also look through or places, and probably find... this!" He bent over the edge of his bed to grab the book.

"Oh..." Taiga said when he recognized it.

"This is where you've got that spell from, right?"  
Daiki wasn't responding at first.

"I'm going to get rid of it," he muttered.

"That's a good idea, before it falls into someone else's hands..." the redhead agreed, also sitting up and laying his head on Daiki's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll hide it somewhere in the castle."

"Great! Can I come with you?"

"I guess that would be a bit suspicious, don't you think? We already left the Ball earlier and now we're wandering around in Hogwarts with a book? People can't even believe their eyes when I'm carrying a book on my own!" Daiki laughed.

"That sounds like you don't think I can keep a secret..." Taiga sulked.

"No, it's not like that! I'll be right back while you can pack our stuff for the journey."

"Ugh, right, we haven't done that yet!" the redhead groaned.

"Fine," he then added.

"But you'll tell me where you hid it afterwards!"

"Sure, man!" Daiki stood up, pulling Taiga with him to kiss him one last time. He almost couldn't let go of him, enjoying the feeling of Taiga's lips on his own too much. In the end the redhead had to push him away with a snicker.

"Now go, you idiot, before we end up kissing for another thirty minutes!"

"That's called practice! I have the feeling my kissing skills are only at level 98 yet!"

"You're weird!" Taiga shook his head with laughter when Daiki exited the dorm with a smile on his face.

* * *

There was no real reason why Daiki had wanted to go alone. He'd planned from the beginning to hide the book inside the Room of Requirement, but the thought of Taiga in connection with said room still made him feel a bit unwell. He still didn't know what the redhead was doing in there, and Daiki was sure it was something Taiga was scared to tell him. It couldn't be all that bad though, Dumbledore and the whole Hogwarts staff knew about him vanishing inside the Room of Requirement about two times a week. That was something that calmed him down and told him he shouldn't think about it too hard. And Taiga's feelings for him were strong after all, Daiki was sure he'd tell him soon.

When he made his way to the seventh floor, he searched for the hidden entrance across the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. As soon as he found it, he walked past the blank wall three times to open it.

"I need a room to hide something. I need a room to hide something where no one else will find it. I need a room to hide something," he repeated to think concentrated, and was glad to see a door appearing inside the wall. He knew from his fifth year that it wasn't exactly easy to summon the door, especially when you were in a hurry or wanted an extravagant room (like a room full of porn magazines...)

A bit excited to see what would await him, he pushed down the door handle to enter the Room of Requirement. And what he saw was different from the rooms he'd seen before. He found himself in a long hall with a multitude of other objects that could only be hidden by students who knew (or had known) this room too. There were mountains of illegal stuff building a pile, such as a box with Cornish Pixies inside, biting books, cursed furniture and so on. Daiki had to snort at the frisbee that had razor sharp teeth and was constantly growling. He was a bit curious to see more of it, still having the book in a tight grip as he continued to make his way into the middle of the room, seeing more and more crazy things like a piano playing on its own, a few flying plates that seemingly aimed for his head and a bunch of stink bombs that probably had to be hidden from Filch. It wasn't difficult to hide a small book in here, he could just throw it on one pile and no one would take note of it ever again.

When Daiki turned around the corner, he saw an object he hadn't seen before. Next to a cage with a skeleton of some animal that had five legs was a dark wooden wooden closet that was big enough for him to fit inside. The front and sides were covered with ornaments and he wondered what such a normal looking cabinet was doing in a place like this. Daiki was sure there had to be something special about it. He decided to open it, but inside was nothing. He was about to turn away a bit disappointed, but then remembered the book in his hands. Why not hide it inside the closet? At least he'd be able to locate it again if there ever was a need to do so. After he closed the door behind the book, his waiting boyfriend in his mind, he was on his way back until he heard something.

Someone else was in this room. Daiki could hear quick breathing as if the person was in fear. He warily pulled out his wand, the noises were coming from one of the piles. What if someone needed help? But what was the reason for them to be scared...? Daiki slowly stepped forward high alerted, his thoughts rushing through his head. It happened so suddenly that he couldn't react. Another person ran into Daiki's direction, the latter one being frozen in shock when recognizing Haizaki, his face as white as a sheet of paper. He was ready for the Slytherin to draw his wand and start throwing jinxes at Daiki, but weirdly he wasn't even looking at him when he passed him as fast as he could. Daiki turned around startled to see Haizaki exiting the room as fast as he could.

What the fuck happened to him? His eyes had been widened, Daiki had seen droplets of sweat on his forehead. All color had vanished out of his face and he hadn't even seemed to have noticed Daiki... He shuddered, the pile was still blocking his view from where Haizaki had been. Should he take a look? Just to see what had disturbed him so much? Daiki knew that was a bad idea, but he was too curious. What could possibly be in this room to scare Haizaki away?

With his wand still aiming at what was in front of him, Daiki slowly rounded the corner. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a foot belonging to a person that he still wasn't able to see. Did Haizaki hurt someone that badly he ran away in fear? Maybe he accidently killed someone?! Daiki rounded the pile a bit faster, his gaze fixed on the body that followed the foot.

"Hey!" he shouted, maybe if the other heard him they'd give him a sign that they still lived. He abruptly came to a halt when seeing the complete body. There were no wounds, at least none that Daiki could see. It was a man, too old to be a Hogwarts student, but Daiki also couldn't recognize him as a teacher.

"H-hey!" He swallowed nervously when taking a closer look at the man's almost grey skin. Daiki stumbled backwards when seeing his face, his eyes and mouth were wide opened as if he'd screamed. But he wouldn't close them anymore, the person laying on the floor in front of him was dead.

"Shit... Freaking shit... What did that fucking Haizaki do?" Daiki muttered nervously, he could feel his blood leaving his face as his gaze swayed to the left side. His legs gave in and he fell to the ground when seeing a hand on the floor. And when Daiki looked up, he couldn't do anything but scream his lungs out. It wasn't just one corpse. There was a whole mountain of dead bodies, all of them staring at him with their dead eyes. Daiki felt the urge to throw up and quickly closed his eyes, but the image stuck to his brain. How many bodies had he seen? Twenty? Forty? More?

He began panting and sweating uncontrollably, trying to crawl away as quick as he could. He opened his eyes again to get his orientation back, but he regretted it immediately when having to look at the dead once again. All of them looked like they'd screamed the moment of their death, and all of them seemed to have died the same way. The usual stench of decay must have been veiled by a spell.

Daiki quickly turned around, stumbling towards the exit as fast as he could. He fell again due to his hectic movements, standing up quickly to leave the Room of Requirement behind. He ran his way back to the door, sitting down against the wall when he made it. There was no doubt that he was in shock. His hands were trembling, his heart was thumping painfully in his chest, and he wasn't able to move anymore.

What the fuck had happened in there? What had Haizaki done? Had he used the Killing Curse? But where did all those people come from? None of them had had to do anything with Hogwarts! It was more than possible that Haizaki was working for Voldemort, but why would he want him to kill random people? And why had Haizaki been so scared if he'd done it?   
What if he hadn't done it at all...?

Daiki shook his head, he was thinking too much. He should get back to Taiga to forget everything, to be hugged by his boyfriend that was probably already worried about him. Should he tell him what happened? But then Taiga would be in the same state as him, and they didn't need that right now. Instead the redhead would calm him down again and kiss him until he felt better.  
Yeah, that's the right thing to do, Daiki thought as he shakily stood up again.

What if Haizaki hadn't done it at all?  
A picture of Taiga exiting the Room of Requirement with a guilty look on his face flashed through his mind. Daiki felt sick again, a foul taste was in his mouth. He quickly ran to the bathroom of the seventh floor, puking into the sink before resting his forehead against the mirror, breathing heavily. Daiki started to wash his mouth extensively, staring at his reflection afterwards.

He looked like shit.   
His skin was pale, almost as white as the corpses, the image causing him to bend over the sink again. His hair was sticking to his forehead, his whole form was shaking and some of the vessels inside his eyes had burst.   
How did he come to think that Taiga...  
No, that wasn't possible. He'd never do anything like that. Dumbledore knew that Taiga had to go to the Room of Requirement, he must be doing something else. He didn't have to do anything with _that._  
It was Haizaki's fault. Taiga could never... He was too pure, too soft to even kill someone.

Calm down, calm down, it wasn't him. It wasn't him and you know it. Taiga wouldn't be able to hide something like that. No one who smiles all day would be able to do this, he thought to himself.  
And he knew that Taiga loved him so much, someone who felt love that strongly couldn't just kill people heartlessly.

"It wasn't him," Daiki told himself, his gaze locked at the mirror.  
It was Haizaki. He'd done it, and now that Daiki had seen it, he got scared and ran away.   
He washed his mouth again before drinking lots of water to get rid of the bad taste. He should eat something before he'd kiss Taiga again, he didn't want him to suspect anything.  
Daiki cleared his throat and straightened up, noticing that his hands weren't trembling that much anymore. Trying to remain calm, he went back to the Gryffindor common room.

"Daiki! Where have you been, you idiot? It's boring to be alone in here!" Taiga immediately approached him when Daiki entered the dorm.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"It took a bit longer than I-..."

"Daiki... Something happened, right...?" The redhead took his hand in worry.

"How do you know...?" he asked nervously.

"You're pale and your heart is beating too fast. Are you okay?" Taiga cupped his face, looking at him concerned.

"How are you able to hear my heart from there?" Daiki furrowed his brows.

"I..." he hesitated.

"I have good ears, you know? Actually I could hear your heart before you even entered," he laughed unsurely.

"Oh... Didn't know that," Daiki muttered.

"Ah, sorry to take you by surprise like that. But seriously, Daiki, what happened?" Taiga almost looked scared, and Daiki noticed himself that he was behaving a bit weird. That Taiga had better senses than a human shouldn't really have surprised him.

"I'm alright. I... met Haizaki," he decided to answer.

"Oh!" Taiga looked surprised before his face morphed into a furious expression.

"Did that bastard hurt you? Why didn't you tell me right away?"

"It's fine, I just didn't want you to worry," Daiki murmured, that was at least half the truth.

"You're stupid," Taiga sighed, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. And just like Daiki thought, the redhead put him at ease, being the one he loved.

"You've got something to eat?" he asked, causing the other to laugh.

"You're hungry? Well, food helps you to calm down I guess. Out of coincidence I have a few sweets left that Tetsuya and Satsuki brought from Hogsmeade!" Taiga opened his drawer to get a bag of candy while Daiki laid down on the redhead's bed, his face pressed into the pillow. It smelled like Taiga, and that helped him to push the horrifying pictures of the bodies aside.

"Here, it's enough for both of us!" Taiga spilled the bag's content on his blanket before laying down next to Daiki.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he then asked, taking Daiki's hands between his own.

"No, it wasn't something that drastic. I just saw him in an empty corridor, he started his bullshit and we threw a few spells at each other, but none of us is really hurt," Daiki lied.

"I'm glad. It wouldn't be good if a teacher saw you."

"Yeah, that's why that asshole fled in the end," he smiled, unwrapping one of the sweets and throwing it into his mouth.

"I know, I know, you're always the hero!" Taiga chuckled, taking some sort of strawberry drop.

"Open your mouth!" he grinned.

"Aww, you're gonna feed me?" Daiki did as he was told when the redhead placed the sweet on his tongue.

"I'd like to have my fingers back, though..." Taiga snorted when the other closed his mouth.

"Fine. But you'll let me too, right?" He grinned, grabbing a piece of chocolate to feed his boyfriend.

"I feel like a total sap now," the redhead snickered after having swallowed it.

"Me too," Daiki smiled, the romantic atmosphere was good for his heart and his disturbed brain.

"Wanna do something even more sappy?" he added with a smirk, getting another strawberry drop and putting it into his mouth.

"Now kiss me!"

"You're unbelievable," Taiga smiled at him widely, placing his arms around Daiki's shoulders before closing in to kiss him. They did that for quite a while until Daiki was sure he had a sugar rush and only rested in Taiga's arms with his eyes closed. He tried not to think about what he'd seen or what he'd thought before he came back.

"Guess we have to leave soon, huh?" the redhead hummed, slowly stroking Daiki's hair.

"Yeah..."

"You're lucky I packed your stuff too!" Taiga chuckled.

"Thanks for that, but that won't keep me from taking your clothes."

"Idiot..." Taiga rolled his eyes with a smile, caressing Daiki's cheek. But even though the atmosphere was so peaceful, Daiki couldn't do anything against his inner restlessness. He had to ask him one question, just to be sure, just to find peace with it.

"Taiga?"

"Hm?"

"You don't hurt people when it's not necessary, right?"

"Huh? No, of course not..." Taiga frowned at him, probably wondering where that question came from. But Daiki wasn't done yet.

"Do you... _have_ to hurt people?"   
The redhead stayed quiet after that and Daiki wished he could take it back, a bad feeling was dwelling up inside him once again.

"Daiki, I think this is the right time to tell you what is left about me. I was too scared to tell you until now, and... I can just hope that you'll understand. But you've been my boyfriend for such a long time now and I love you more than anything else, and of course I feel worse every day I keep a secret..." he bit his lip nervously.

"Your father was a vampire, right?" Daiki muttered, seeing a rather shocked expression on the other's face.

"Y-you knew that?" Taiga stuttered uncomfortably.

"Yeah, and that's no reason for me to break up with you!" He placed his hands on the redhead's shoulders.

"But there's... more..." Taiga whispered, looking down.

"There was a reason why I had to change to Hogwarts and why most people wanted me in Azkaban. Daiki, I did... something wrong..." He gazed at him with a hurt look in his eyes and Daiki held his breath.

"What?" he asked.

"I... I-it was an accident, I just couldn't... It was- But it was all my fault, even though I didn't want it to happen..."

"Hey, hey, calm down. Shhh, it's fine, just slow down a bit. What happened?" Daiki hugged him, not having expected him to fall apart like that, he almost looked like he was about to cry.

"Remember when I told you I had a girlfriend?" Taiga whimpered.

"Yeah." Daiki rubbed his back soothingly.

"She didn't know that I... was a Half-breed, and I knew she wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore if I told her."

"Why?"

"Ironically her sister got killed by a vampire, she would have hated me if she'd known it..."

"Oh..." Daiki didn't really know what he should reply to that.

"And then there was this guy, my only friend except Tatsuya. But he was jealous that I was together with the girl he liked too, so he tried to force us apart. The easiest way to do that was telling her about me, that one half of me belonged to the kind of monster that had killed her sister." Taiga buried his head in Daiki's neck, letting the other comfort him.

"You're not that way, I know it. I've seen your father in my visions and you're the complete opposite of him!" Daiki's heart was beating wildly. What else was going to happen this night? First the corpses that still made him shudder, and now Taiga was finally telling him the truth. He just hoped that those two things didn't belong together.

"What happened then?" he asked softly, not wanting to make Taiga feel like he was being interrogated.

"Like I expected she broke up with me and never wanted to see me again. And just the next day I saw them kissing. I was angry, it felt like I had befriended both of them for nothing, that they'd just used me. I've done so much for both of them, you know?"

"Yeah, they had no right to treat you that way. I'm sorry for you." Daiki kissed his hair.

"You shouldn't be. I couldn't handle it back then, I've never felt that much hate for anyone before. I kinda... snapped. Really bad... She ran away, but he didn't." There was guilt and regret in his eyes again, the way he looked at Daiki told him that it was painful for him to talk about this.

"You hurt him? Worse than I hurt you so Durmstrang wanted to get rid of you," Daiki concluded.

"Yeah, something like that. But that won't happen again," Taiga whispered, averting his eyes.

"It's not really your fault, things like that happen. You forgave me after I used this curse on you, so I'm sure he'll forgive you too!" Daiki tried to calm him down, slightly panicking since he wasn't good with such things.  
Taiga gulped before responding.

"I don't think so."

"Dai-chan? Taiga? Are you ready yet? It's close to midnight!" Satsuki was knocking on the door like earlier this day. But now was the worst time ever to interrupt. Taiga had just been about to open up completely to him, to tell him everything and now they had to find another moment where the redhead was in the right mood to share his still remaining secrets.

"We're coming!" Daiki shouted back, kissing Taiga's forehead before getting his backpack and his broomstick, waiting for his boyfriend to follow him. To not risk the chance of being spotted, Satsuki allowed them for once to use the window as an exit and fly to the courtyard with their broomsticks.

When the cold night wind hit his face, Daiki just noticed that Taiga had effectively avoided to tell him what he did in the Room of Requirement all the time. But even more interesting was, now that they were leaving, what would happen to him when he didn't have the chance to go there anymore? Would Daiki be able to figure it out on his own? Did he _want_ to figure it out? If it _really_ was something that would possibly make him see Taiga in a different light, wouldn't it be better for him to not know everything about him?   
Daiki threw one glance at the one he loved.

No, he'd _never_ leave his side, the circumstances didn't matter to him, whatever it was that Taiga still had to tell him, Daiki wouldn't push him away.

The two flew down to the courtyard, already seeing Murasakibara, Midorima and Tetsuya and Akashi with the Griffin that was pawing at the ground with its enormous claws. Akashi also had brought him broomstick with him, a model that was almost as fast as Daiki's and Taiga's ones. The area was only illuminated by the lights of the castle and the moon revealing itself behind a few dark clouds. The redhead took Daiki's hand as soon as they were on the ground, snuggling into him when the wind was blowing into their faces. Daiki clasped the other's hand tightly, shivering at how cold Taiga's body suddenly felt, just like at the Burrow when they'd been outside at night.

"It's boring out here, when do we finally leave?" Murasakibara decided to break the silence, munching on a lollipop.

"As soon as everyone is ready," Akashi responded, and just the next moment Satsuki came through the door into the courtyard, having her limitless bag with her.

"Alright guys, I hope all of you are prepared for this. Wait, where's Ki-chan?!" she shouted.

"Kise-chin panicked and said he couldn't do this. He's hiding in his bed right now," Murasakibara informed her slightly bored.

"That idiot!! He's going to hear from me! Mukkun, you're coming with me, I don't know the password for the Hufflepuff common room!" Satsuki turned on her heels, dragging Murasakibara with her.

"Great," Midorima sighed while Tetsuya was petting the Griffin that was somehow becoming nervous.

"Taiga, would you mind to step back a little, the Griffin doesn't seem to be fond of your presence, just like any other animal," Akashi noticed it too, staring at the redhead sternly. Taiga pulled at Daiki's hand, symbolizing him to let go, but Daiki refused to do so as his boyfriend distanced himself from the others. Standing a bit offside now, their broomsticks laying in front of them, Daiki hugged him and rubbed his back to get him warm again.

"Thank you," Taiga muttered, his hands still cold as ice when he hugged him back. Why wasn't his body warm anymore? As if there was a switch inside him that turned off his whole system at random times.

"Is it that bad?" Daiki hummed, taking his boyfriend's hands to blow warm air into them, not caring about the others watching them, they knew about their relationship anyway.

"Y-yeah..."   
He suddenly noticed that Taiga wasn't just cold, he was scared.

"Hey, Taiga, nothing will happen to us, alright?" Daiki placed a kiss on top of his head.

"Okay..." the redhead whispered weakly.

"I'll take care of you, I promise." Daiki let his lips stay on Taiga's hair a bit longer, inhaling his pleasant scent.

"Are you done over there?" Midorima interrupted them embarrassed.

"We won't stop just because you don't know what love is!" Daiki stuck out his tongue at him without letting go of Taiga. The door to the courtyard was suddenly smashed open and Satsuki was pulling a whining Kise behind her, Murasakibara trailing after them.

"Found the coward! Now we're ready to take off!" she announced.

"Ki-chan, Midorin and Mukkun, you'll share a broomstick with Dai-chan, Taiga and Akashi. If that's too much for one of the broomsticks, I think three people will also fit on the Griffin's back. If necessary, we-..."

"Momocchi, wait, wait!" Kise interrupted her, causing Satsuki to glare at him.

"What else is it, you-..."

"No, no, just look!" Kise pointed at the night sky, at the Moon to be specific.

"Huh? There's nothing," Daiki frowned.

"No, he's right! Look!" Taiga replied and Daiki focused again on the moon. He suddenly saw a movement, something that looked like wings, a silhouette that was blurred by the moon shining brighter than before.

"Well, that's a surprise," Akashi smirked upon seeing the mythical creature approaching them.

"Is that... a Pegasus?" Taiga asked with his mouth wide opened when the bright animal got closer to them.

"Man, I can't believe it," Daiki mumbled surprised.

"Awesome! That means we'll make it in time without being in a hurry!" Satsuki jumped up and down excitedly.

"What a coincidence!" Even Murasakibara seemed a bit startled.

"You call that a coincidence? It was fate!" Midorima huffed.

"Whatever, now there's nothing in our way anymore!" Satsuki stated determined as all of them observed the Pegasus gracefully landing in front of them. Its body was completely white and shining brightly as it tucked away its wings and stared at the group attentively with its warm black eyes.

"Wow," Taiga whispered next to Daiki, causing the latter one to smile and stroke the redhead's hand.  
This is where it starts, he thought.


	36. One step closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek, I'm close to 200k words!! How did this even happen??   
> ⁀⊙﹏☉⁀

"Isn't that Pegasus a bit too showy?" Daiki shouted against the wind as the group of eight Hogwarts students was flying through the night sky, not having to use their wands as light sources since the fur and the wings of the Pegasus were glowing twice as much.

"Don't worry, Dai-chan, I used a spell to cover ourselves. If no one looks right at us, we're going by unnoticed!" Satsuki responded, riding the majestic creature, Kise and Murasakibara sitting behind her on the large back of the Pegasus.

"Well, it's not like anyone is around us anyways," Midorima commented, flying the Griffin with Tetsuya. The bird-like creature was following the Pegasus, its sharp eyes following every movement of it. Daiki didn't know how to interpret it, but the Griffin seemed to see the Pegasus as its leader.

It had been quite funny when Satsuki squealed at the flying horse in front of her and the creature had allowed her to stroke the white fur. Daiki had to help her up on the back of the Pegasus, said one being twice as big as an actual horse...  
Because of Kise's kind of girly character he'd preferred the Pegasus over the Griffin and immediately joined Satsuki. Tetsuya also seemed glad at this, not having to share the Griffin with the babbling blonde. In contrary to Kise, Midorima had refused to fly on the Pegasus, saying the constellation of stars was the wrong one, whatever this was supposed to mean.

Daiki thought they'd quite cause a sensation if they were seen by anyone which luckily wasn't the case. Who wouldn't frown at eight people in the sky, three flying on broomsticks, two on a Griffin and another three on a glowing white horse with wings?

"Ugh, it's so cold up here! How long do we have to keep going?" Kise complained, already looking for cover from the cold wind behind Satsuki's back.

"We have to be at least two hours away from Hogwarts, so we're not in reach anymore. We're done for good if one of the teachers is able to locate us," Satsuki answered.

"After that we'll make a small camp to take a rest. And when the sun rises, we're on our way again," Akashi added, having to raise his voice when they were hit by a small gust.

"That doesn't sound like much sleep," Taiga sighed, still not being able to avert his eyes from the Pegasus. Daiki wondered that the animal wasn't even startled a bit by Taiga's presence. Even though he hated to admit it, Akashi had been right when he said that animals somehow got restless near Taiga. Daiki shook his head, a Pegasus just was something else.

"Hey there, ready for our race?" Daiki smirked at the redhead, slightly ramming him from the side to get his attention.

"Sure!" Taiga snapped out of whatever haze he'd been in, bumping their shoulders.

"Guys, what are you doing?! Hey, stop right there!" Satsuki shouted when the two idiots flew ahead to see who was faster. It felt good for Daiki to laugh, to chase after the red blur of his boyfriend or to be chased by him. He tried to forget what he'd seen this night, trying to concentrate on Taiga's sincere grin. He was saying something, but Daiki couldn't hear it due to the wind whizzing in his ears that got louder the more he increased his speed.

"I love you too," he muttered like on reflex. Taiga was smiling at him softly now. He heard him, right? Of course he did, he'd been able to hear his freaking heartbeat. Daiki blushed in embarrassment, speeding up before making a looping and flying back to the others. Taiga was laughing behind him as he tried to keep up.

"Was that really necessary?" Midorima sighed as soon as the two got back from their small race, and Daiki felt like they were moving way too slow. At least the wind wasn't burning in his face that much anymore and Taiga didn't seem to be as absent as before.

"Sorry when you don't know what fun is," Daiki sneered arrogantly, causing the Ravenclaw to glare at him which looked kind of funny since he had to hold tightly onto his glasses for them to not get blown away.

"Alright, Dai-chan, Taiga, please tell me before you're just distancing yourselves like that! We should be safe around here, but we never know! Now that you left Hogwarts, Dumbledore can't protect you from Voldemort anymore!" Satsuki also scolded them.

"Okay, okay..." Daiki sighed while Taiga mumbled an apology. But as soon as Daiki turned to his boyfriend, he rolled his eyes with a smirk while pointing at Satsuki and Midorima.

"I saw that, Dai-chan!"

* * *

The landscape under them had been the same since their departure, hills, grasslands, but mostly dark forests. Soon after not only Kise cried that he was freezing to death, Satsuki initiated for them to go down, having found a spot in the woods where the Pegasus was able to land without taking down a few trees.

"What now? Do we have a rope to make sure the Griffin or the Pegasus won't escape?" Murasakibara yawned when setting one foot on the forest floor.

"I don't think so," Satsuki replied, watching how the creature was slowly laying down, covering itself with its wings as if preparing to sleep.

"I also have the feeling Featherwing is going to stay as long as the Pegasus does. He's following it somehow," Tetsuya added, stroking the Griffin's long neck.

"We should build up the tents now, Satsuki, you'll take care of that while I'll cover us with a few protection spells. I'll tell you if I need your help," Akashi informed them before walking off.

"Ugh, building up tents? Now?! I want to sleep..." Daiki growled.

"Oh, Dai-chan, you goofball! We're magicians, you won't have to do it with your hands!" Satsuki giggled.

"Ah, right... I love magic," he yawned, leaning his head on Taiga's shoulder.  
Life was easy when everything you had to do was swinging a stick through the air. But unfortunately that only seemed to work with Satsuki, everyone else (except Midorima) had problems to set up their tents. They had four, one for two of them. Daiki was ready to kill if he wouldn't get to share a tent with Taiga, so that was settled. Since the group was too tired to argue, they quickly agreed on Tetsuya with Satsuki, Kise with Murasakibara and Akashi with Midorima.

Daiki was on his way to join Taiga inside their tent after having taken a piss in the forest, hurrying up since he got even colder in his pajamas and wanted nothing more than to be in the arms of his boyfriend that would hopefully be his heater for this night. Hopefully... Daiki sighed, those extreme fluctuations of Taiga's body temperature were still a riddle to him.

"Hey," the redhead whispered when Daiki pulled up the tent's zipper.

"Oh come on, why do we need two sleeping bags?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow, kicking one of said objects aside, his boyfriend being inside the second one.

"Aho! There's no way we'll fit together into a sleeping back!!" Taiga protested.

"It's cold and I can never be close enough to you, problem solved," Daiki shrugged, trying to get inside the sleeping bag, too.

"And I told you it's not working..." Taiga deadpanned, reluctantly making space for his persistent boyfriend.

"You have to admit, it is," Daiki grinned, their bodies pressed against each other. It felt good to have Taiga close to him again, and adding to that, his body temperature was back to normal which meant he was perfect as a living heater.

"Idiot," Taiga sighed when Daiki wrapped his arms around him with a smile, losing himself in the comfiness of the redhead's neck where he snuggled into.

"Let's hope Satsuki doesn't wake us up too early, I've never been this comfortable before," Daiki yawned when Taiga was shifting to get into a more cushy position before placing his arms around his boyfriend's torso.

"Yeah, it's pretty cozy except for the fact that neither of us can move..." the redhead grumbled, barely able to kick at Daiki's legs.

"Oh, so you want to _move..._ " Daiki smirked at him, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Daiki, I swear if you're getting a boner now, I'm going to throw you out!"

"Aww, man, I know you love it..."

"Daiki..." Taiga growled warningly before suddenly blushing brightly.

"Y-you idiot!" He tried to shove Daiki away whose dick had felt addressed and decided to make itself noticeable. But since they were in a sleeping bag that was meant for one person, Taiga wasn't able to push his boyfriend away from him, causing said one to grin cockily.

"I can't help it, you're sexy like this!"

"Like what?" Taiga growled.

"You know, I mean this _I'm going to throw you out if you do this_ kinda excites me, and of course I wanted to see your blushing face," Daiki teased him.

"Oh well, I'm not exactly eager to blush when I'm having someone's dick poking my leg!" Taiga protested offended.

"It's not your leg," Daiki smirked.

"Of course it's my leg!"

"Nope..."

"You know what? I know you're _excited_ by this, so wanna see something even more _exciting?_ Maybe going into a dark and cold forest would help? Alone??" Taiga threatened him, still trying to squirm away from Daiki.

"Uuh, that backfired, your threats are turning me on," Daiki moaned.

"Are they..."

"Don't worry, I know they're empty," he winked at Taiga.

"How comes that?" The redhead narrowed his eyes. Daiki inched closer to him, causing their noses to touch.

"Because you love me," he whispered, feeling with satisfy how Taiga shuddered before tightening his arms around him.

"I hate you," he pouted.

"No, you don't," Daiki hummed.   
"Seems like I'm getting a response down there," he added, daringly grinding on his boyfriend.

"I-I... That's my leg..." Taiga stuttered with a red face.

"Oh, come on," Daiki snorted, one hand leaving Taiga's back to make its way between the two of them.

"No, Daiki, stop it! You-..." The redhead inhaled shakily when his boyfriend was touching the obvious bulge in his pants.

"D-daiki, no! The other's will hear us, maybe even see us!" Taiga quickly grabbed the other's wrist.

"How should they be able to see us?" Daiki frowned.

"Well, when there's light inside a tent, you might be able to see us from outside?" Taiga looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Then we'll just turn off the light, it's not that hard. Besides, what tent are you even talking about, we got two more..." Daiki smirked suggestively.

"Idiot..." The redhead grumbled, wriggling one arm out of the sleeping bag to reach for his wand that had been the light source until now.

"Now we can't even see each other, so I'm calling it a night," he stated, trying to turn around to face Daiki with his back, but of course that wasn't working.

"Taigaaa, please! You're my man, my future husband! Just a bit..." Daiki sulked, causing the other to sigh.

"But... We can't, I mean our clothes are getting dirty and I didn't pack that much underwear..."

"Wow, that's not a problem," Daiki rolled his eyes, sneaking his hand back down.

"Still, I don't want to sleep like that and I'd have to wash my hands, but I'm going to be too tired to do that afterwards," Taiga still complained.

"Then we won't use our hands!" Daiki said as he managed to crawl on top of Taiga, pinning him down.

"Huh?"   
Daiki watched how a red hue reappeared on Taiga's face when the other started to grind on him again.

"It's fine like this, right?" He briefly kissed Taiga's lips, moaning every time their erections were brushing through their pants.

"Daiki..." The redhead pulled him closer in his arms, causing Daiki to move faster, gasping at the pleasing friction. Taiga moaned quietly, probably scared that they could be heard. Daiki was holding onto his shoulders tightly, kissing him when he got up to Taiga's face while rubbing their dicks together. He felt a tingling knot inside his stomach when the redhead started to shove his hips into Daiki's. Catching his lips in a hot open-mouthed kiss, he knew he wouldn't last any longer.

Daiki's movements grew more frantic, he shoved his hands under the fabric of Taiga's shirt to feel his muscles flexing. The redhead moaned when Daiki pulled it up to expose his erected nipples, his hands sliding up his abs to gently twirl them between his fingers. Taiga gasped at the pleasure, his own hands roaming Daiki's body as he shoved up the other's shirt. Still grinding on him lustfully, Daiki lowered his head to let his tongue graze one nipple. Due to his movements it was hard to close his lips around it, so he kept on licking it, feeling how Taiga was tensing under him. The redhead pulled him back into a kiss, their naked torsos now connected closely as they both moved against each other.

Daiki imagined how it would be like if they had real sex. How they'd be naked right now, his dick inside Taiga, pushing in and out. Maybe Daiki would be riding him with his hands on his boyfriend's chest, moving up and down with Taiga holding onto his hips and thrusting inside him. Moaning at those lively images, Daiki pushed his whole body into Taiga's before he reached his climax, feeling the vibrations of the redhead's moan inside his throat before he collapsed on his boyfriend in exhaustion. They tried to calm their breathing for a while, Daiki's head was laying on Taiga's chest, listening to his quick heartbeat while the redhead was stroking his hair.

"That's a way to have sex..." Taiga huffed as soon as he caught his breath again.

"Right? Man, I freaking love you!" Daiki chuckled happily, kissing him right again.

"You're a bit too active now..." Taiga sighed amusedly.

"I just hope we'll get another night like this."

"Yeah... until we have no underwear left..." Taiga's comment caused Daiki to laugh quietly. He guided his boyfriend's arms around him before snuggling into him.

"Now I feel safe," he muttered, hearing Taiga humming softly as he started to fall asleep.

Even though that was the first night what felt like in a lifetime where Daiki was sleeping in Taiga's arms again, his subconsciousness wouldn't leave him alone in his sleep. Everything he'd tried to forget this day came back at him as if he'd wanted to throw a boomerang away and beg it wouldn't return. He'd hoped that Taiga's presence would protect him from nightmares, but his brain started to make things up because of the lack of answers to everything Daiki couldn't understand.

He was in the Room of Requirement again. But instead of Haizaki, he saw Taiga running past him, hectically exiting the room like the Slytherin had done. Daiki's feet were moving on their own, he couldn't do anything against it. He feared what he'd have to see the next few moments, the bad feeling in his gut worsening with every step. Rounding the corner, he had to look at the corpses once again, unable to ever forget the view of dead bodies piled on each other. Daiki shivered, having the feeling that all of them were looking at him. They seemed to taunt him as whispering filled the air, voices in his head.

_What now, Daiki? What will you do? Will you let him get away with that?_

He flinched when they suddenly started moving, slowly at first, but soon they collapsed, falling down from one another before crawling into Daiki's direction.  
Shit, what a nightmare. He'd never had a good way with corpses, especially not when they were moving.

"That wasn't you, right? No, that's not possible..." Daiki shook his head, closing his eyes in hope to wake up again. He shrieked when a hand, a dead, rotten hand grabbed his ankle and his eyes flew wide open again. Quickly freeing himself, Daiki sprinted over to the exit, almost kicking in the door until finally being in the corridor of the seventh floor again. With the difference that he was facing Taiga now who was staring at him with an unfathomable look.

"Why is your heart beating that fast, Daiki?"  
And he woke up.  
He looked around in panic until he realized where he was. It was dark, probably around four in the morning. The fright was still sitting deep inside Daiki, causing his heart to thump in his chest.

He turned to Taiga who was asleep peacefully, his breathing calm and even while his arms were still wrapped around Daiki.  
Wasn't that _his_ Taiga? The person he loved?   
Daiki tried to make out his face in the faint moonlight that was able to shine through the tent's fabric.  
No, it hadn't been him. It couldn't be, Taiga had almost cried when he told him how he once hurt that guy from Durmstrang. It was impossible to imagine that he was able to kill even one person. Daiki shouldn't think about it too much, it had been a simple nightmare, nothing more.

Without really knowing what he was doing, he reached for Taiga's face, carefully pulling up one eyelid.   
His eyes had scared him, he'd never looked like this at him before. Just a nightmare, right?

"What am I even trying to do," he muttered confused upon seeing Taiga's red iris, his round pupil, nothing was out of ordinary. It still looked a bit creepy, but that was what he got from forcing the eye open while its owner was asleep. Daiki knew he was worrying too much and if he didn't get to sleep now, he'd be moody for the rest of the day. It was necessary for him to move on, he would have to concentrate on other things soon enough.

* * *

"Daiki..."   
Daiki woke up by a low voice and a pair of lips on his own. When he opened his eyes, Taiga was smiling at him. Even though the view of his boyfriend pleased him, Daiki's head felt like it weighed tons, and he closed his eyes again, too tired to stay awake.

"Daiki, come on," Taiga chuckled, shaking him awake again.

"Goddamnit..." Daiki groaned roughly, feeling how the redhead tried to move out of the sleeping back.

"Fuck, I think we're stuck," Taiga then cursed, not able to get out.

"That's not as bad as it sounds like," Daiki yawned, cuddling into his boyfriend again.

"Daiki, please, the zipper is on your side..."

"Yeah, then open it yourself..." Daiki grumbled, not moving one inch. The redhead sighed, leaning across Daiki to fumble with the zipper, his weight almost squeezing him to death.

"Dude, get your armpit out of my face!" Daiki rolled out of the sleeping back as soon as the zipper had been opened, trying to recover.

"That's what you get, and at least you're awake now," Taiga grinned, standing up to get changed. Daiki whistled when the redhead undressed himself, getting rid of his underwear with a relieved sigh.

"Hey there, sexy," Daiki smirked, not able to resist the urge to slap the other's butt. Taiga turned around with a death glare.

"You should have done that after you changed..."

"Well, what am I supposed to do when you present me your butt like that?" Daiki grinned cheekily, of course distancing himself when he also had to undress. It really had been a bad idea to do that after he'd teased his boyfriend because said one effectively took revenge, causing the two to hit each other with their clothes in the end (of course after they were dressed properly again...).

They both jumped when suddenly spotting Tetsuya sticking his head inside their tent to stare at them with his big blue eyes. The short wizard informed them that breakfast was ready, Satsuki apparently had seemed to have stolen dozens of sandwiches from the kitchen that were all now safely stowed in her magic bag. When they followed Tetsuya outside, the group was already sitting on a blanket on the floor, fighting over the best sandwich, a battle that Taiga and Daiki were quick to join. Satsuki had to clear her throat several times to get their attention, informing them that they were going to fly three hours before making a short break and eating something again.

"At least it's not as stormy as yesterday," Daiki stated, taking off the ground with his broomstick, Taiga right behind him.

"Yeah, your hair looked really funny afterwards!"

"You're one to talk! You looked like something exploded on your head!" Daiki snorted.

When they were in the air again, the Pegasus and the Griffin being unexpectedly loyal to them, Daiki felt how he was slowly dozing off. The landscape was still the same, even the image of untouched nature didn't interest him that much anymore. What he needed was sleep.

"Hey!" Taiga poked his side, having sensed his absence.

"It's dangerous to fly with closed eyes, you could crash!" He sounded half worried, half amused.

"As if I'd ever crash," Daiki huffed, his eyes staying at least half opened.

"Just tell us if you need a break."

"Nah, I'm not a weakling," he bragged, speeding up, betting that Taiga was rolling his eyes, but Daiki wasn't planning on giving in.

After two boring hours, they suddenly got surprised by someone.

"Quaffle?!" Daiki shouted unbelieving as his owl practically came out of nowhere, almost crashing into him. He slowed down a bit after having caught her, inspecting the small fur ball that looked a bit disheveled.

"Oh wow, how did she find us?" Satsuki squealed, having noticed their guest too.

"I... I don't know, but that's amazing. Still, you shouldn't be with us, Quaffle! It's dangerous for you out here, you could get lost and get attacked by... bigger birds!" Daiki scolded her, hearing Taiga chuckling next to him.

"Aww, I wish I had an owl like that!" Kise was looking at Quaffle with sparkling eyes, causing the animal to chirp excitedly because of all the attention it received. The owl was picking at Daiki's hand before crawling into his sleeve, searching protection from the cold wind. Except the fact that he was scared to accidently crush Quaffle like that, he was secretly proud that she made it this far just to see him.

"Daiki, never say again that you don't have a soft spot for animals..." He could feel Tetsuya narrowing his eyes at him which he ignored expertly.

When the sun was at its highest, Akashi suggested a break since they had left quite the miles behind them, having been a bit faster than originally calculated by him and Satsuki. They found a nice clearing in the forest, munching on sandwiches again which was their main food source from now on while everyone was doing things on their own.  
Daiki and Taiga were both laying on the mossy ground after a small wrestling match initiated by the redhead who had stolen one of Daiki's sandwiches, the two staring up into the sky by now.

"Ugh, this cloud exactly looks like Snape's nose!" Taiga pointed upwards with a snort.

"True! I'd say it looks more like a deformed dick, though..."

"Can't you think about something else for once..." the redhead groaned, jabbing him in the side.

"It's not my fault your presence increases my cock's activity..." he smirked.

"Aho..."

"Baka..."

"Shut up, you're the stupid one!"

"As if you're smarter!"

"At least I wasn't thinking that genes are contagious!"

"They aren't?" Daiki frowned at him, causing Taiga to burst into laughter.

"Nope, I asked Satsuki."

"Ha, so you're not better at all!" Daiki ruffled his hand through the other's hair forcefully.

"Hey," the redhead laughed, slapping Daiki's hand away, but the latter one only grinned, rolling to the side to shortly peck his lips. After looking into Taiga's eyes, Daiki decided to kiss him again, longer this time.

"Daiki, what if the others are watching?" The redhead pushed him away without really using force, laughing when his boyfriend resisted, closing in to nuzzle his cheek.

"I absolutely don't care..."

"Quaffle is watching, though," Taiga chuckled.

"What? Quaffle, you little stalker!" Daiki also noticed the tiny owl hopping on Taiga's chest, causing the redhead to flinch before relaxing again. At least it seemed like he'd finally warmed up to her and didn't have the need anymore to run away from any owl he saw.

"What do you say, Quaffle? Don't I have a handsome boyfriend?" Daiki laid his head on Taiga's shoulder, the latter one rolling his eyes with a smile. The animal on his chest was hooting approvingly before starting to pick at Taiga's robe.

"I guess we have to take her with us, huh?" The redhead hummed, holding out a finger for Quaffle to rub her head against it.

"Yeah, we'll have to give her sandwich crumbs, there's no way she's able to hunt on her own. I mean, Quaffle is not much bigger than a mouse, how should she be able to hunt one?" Daiki sighed, watching how the owl was snuggling into Taiga's hand.

"She'll grow soon enough," the redhead smiled.

"Yeah," Daiki muttered, closing his eyes for a while. Quaffle seemed to get bored, turning away from them to see what the others were doing, deciding to fly over to Satsuki and Tetsuya.

"Taiga, I want to ask you something," Daiki suddenly started after a moment of silence, causing Taiga to gaze at him. And to Daiki's confusion, he looked... scared?

"Hey, it's nothing bad. I've only been wondering... How comes that your body temperature falls like that sometimes?"

"Oh, uhm, that... You noticed it?" Taiga seemed a bit nervous about it.

"Of course I did, Baka! And of course I'm worrying if you suddenly have the body heat of a snowman!" Daiki grumbled with a frown.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Please don't worry about it, that just happens sometimes..."

"What do you mean _it just happens sometimes?!?_ That's not how a body is supposed to work!" Although Taiga told him to not be concerned about it, Daiki of course was still worried.

"I know, but it's not like I can ask someone why this happens! I just know that I'm freezing when it's like that..." The redhead sulked, causing Daiki to take his hand and intertwine their fingers.

"But there have to be others like you!" He replied. The redhead inhaled before speaking his next words, a sad look in his eyes.

"I'm not so sure about that... Did you know that more than half of the children are born dead when they have one nonhuman parent? And even if there's someone like me, I wouldn't even know if their body is working the same way as mine," Taiga sighed.

"Hey, don't let this get to you. You can't change the way you are, it's not your fault. Taiga, I like you. Man, I love you and that won't change!" Daiki replied, squeezing his hand and making Taiga look at him. But despite the redhead's hesitant smile at him and the reawakened hope in his eyes, Daiki could feel his own words gnawing at his chest.

"Yeah?" Taiga muttered. Daiki raised one hand to carefully stroke his boyfriend's cheek.

"Of course." Now he felt worse. Was he even telling him the truth? But he shouldn't be influenced that much by a single nightmare!

"Thank you, Daiki! I'm so glad I can talk to you, I love you so much!" Taiga let go of his hand to wrap his arms around him.

"You can always talk to me." Daiki closed his eyes, hugging him back.

"But seriously," he then said.

"Is there something else? Like, can you see in the dark?"

"A bit..."

"Wait, does that mean you _could've_ seen me yesterday night?" Daiki playfully narrowed his eyes at him, pretending to be angry.

"Uuhhh... It was good anyways, right?" Taiga grinned sheepishly.

"Also, you weren't able to see me, and I said I can only see a bit. We still would've head-butted ourselves accidently!"

"Yeah, probably..." Daiki laughed.

"What about your strength? You fucking lifted me with one arm when we had that fight!" he continued and couldn't help to still be amazed a bit about that fact while Taiga looked quite uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about that... I don't really like remembering what happened. But it's true that I'm a bit stronger than probably most people..."

"A bit..." Daiki frowned.

"Y-yeah! And just so you know, if I win an arm wresting match against you, it's not because of that! I'm always using the power I got as a human! It's the same with speed..." Taiga grumbled, looking aside.

"Wait, what?! Does that mean, you could be a lot faster??" Daiki huffed, somehow feeling like his pride was being attacked.

"A bit...?" Taiga smiled nervously.

"Oof..." Daiki sighed loudly.

"Sorry..."

"It's alright. I just see how much of a special edition of a boyfriend you are. Imagine if you were to make cookies for me, combining that speed and power, I could've get hundreds of cookies in less than an hour!" Daiki smirked cockily.

"I think that's rather about how many ovens you have..." Taiga deadpanned.

"You're still gonna make me cookies as an excuse!"

"Fine, as soon as we're at the Burrow again, I'll make you everything you want!" The redhead looked at him as if Daiki just started a challenge.

"My man," Daiki grinned before placing his lips on Taiga's, kissing him fondly.

"I just noticed," he started afterwards, having laid down on his boyfriend's chest.

"We're lucky you haven't got those vampire teeth, kissing would be difficult!" Daiki laughed.

"R-right..."

"But maybe they'd look good on you as long as you keep your big appetite for cheeseburgers!"

"You're getting weird..." Taiga snorted.

"Then let's eat something, it's getting cold on the ground!" Daiki stood up, brushing the moss and dirt off his robe, putting some in Taiga's hair and quickly dodging a counter attack. Although he still got earth rubbed into his hair, Daiki was glad that he got one step closer to Taiga once again.  
But maybe, this had also been his last.


	37. Kagami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 200k words!  
>  ＼（＠￣∇￣＠）／  
> I think this chapter turned out well, and it's super long too!

"Where the fuck are we?" Daiki groaned one hour after their break was over and the group was in the air again with the sun setting on their right side.

"South Britain...?" Kise responded which wasn't really helpful.

"Damn, I still can't believe we'll make it to Norway. My butt hurts like hell from flying on a broomstick all day," Taiga sighed.

"Oh, well, I'm pretty comfortable up here..." Kise winked at them from the Pegasus, and if he'd had long hair, he probably would've thrown it back right now. Daiki ignored him, starting to grin at Taiga instead.

"Maybe you should get used to a certain pain in the ass..."   
The redhead glared at him in return.

"I think someone is eager to kiss the ground right now..."

"Shit, I'm getting hard," Daiki continued to tease him.

"Could you two quit it right now? You're not the only ones here," Akashi interfered slightly annoyed, having still not come to terms with Daiki's and Taiga's relationship. Daiki resisted the urge to roll his eyes, who knew if Akashi got his famous pair of scissors with him...

"E-eh? Aominecchi what were you talking about?" Kise turned to them again with a red face.

"Oh, you wouldn't understand," Daiki smirked, causing Taiga to bump him from the side. Of course Daiki had to push back the next second, leading them to a match who could ram the other without getting hurt or worse, falling down. It wasn't the first time that happened, so Taiga was prepared for Daiki to dodge quickly.

"Dai-chan, Taiga! Stop acting like children, we're not that far away from the English Channel anymore, so don't do something stupid when we're crossing it! Open water and sea breeze are still the most dangerous threats for us!" Satsuki immediately nagged.

"Also, the part of the English Channel we plan on crossing is wider as we'd avoid to fly over London. Even though we'll reach open water this evening, we'll sleep first before continuing, we can't risk any of us needing a break when nothing but water surrounds us," Akashi added.

"Ugh, sounds tiring," Murasakibara grumbled. Since yesterday he seemed like he already had enough of their adventure, probably missing all the sweets he could've gotten at Hogsmeade.

"Hmpf. I'm rather concerned about that owl on my head..." Midorima huffed, sounding annoyed which was no surprise due to the fact that Quaffle was proudly sitting on top of his head, having made herself comfortable in his green hair. Daiki and Taiga both started laughing uncontrollably, the sight alone was too comical. Quaffle tilted her head like Nigou would do when he heard laughter.

"Hey, I'm serious! I just haven't thrown that thing off because it'll get hurt otherwise!" Midorima complained.

"Midorimacchi, be honest, you like animals too, don't you?" Kise threw in.

"I certainly do _not_ like them!!"

"At least they seem to like you. Aominecchi's owl probably thinks your hair is a nest made of moss!" he giggled.

"If you don't want your sparkling blonde hair to mysteriously fall off one day, you better shut your mouth!" Midorima glowered, still looking kind of funny with the quirky owl on his head. But his warning seemed to reach Kise nevertheless, the latter one quickly facing another direction.

"Guys, please listen for a second. I know we should be inconspicuous with the spell covering us, but we'll arrive in a civilized region soon, so please avoid to attract attention!" Satsuki specifically looked at Daiki and Taiga who suppressed to grin at each other.

"Also, we can't take any risks so we'll use the clouds as cover. As soon as someone is freezing or completely soaked, we'll rest and continue our journey the next day. If we're lucky, it's cloudy tomorrow while we cross the English Channel. If not, we'll have to travel at night, so there's no possibility that someone might actually spot us," she added.

"Man, seriously? Through the clouds?" Daiki groaned, he wasn't exactly eager to do that, it left nothing behind than a bad sight and soaked clothes.

"Freezing?! Is this really necessary?" Kise already started shivering.

"Yes, it is necessary," Akashi responded sternly.

"But why is it so dangerous if someone spots us? Aren't muggles too stupid to be noticing anything at all?" Taiga threw in with a frown.

"It's not about the muggles, Taiga," Tetsuya explained.

"Although they don't understand what they see, other wizards and witches do. And even if the most insignificant muggle spots us, those who chase us will know where we are."

"Huh, I don't really get it..."

"Wait, who's chasing us?" Kise screeched.

"If we're lucky only Hogwarts. If we're having bad luck, the ministry is involved too, having its eyes everywhere. It's most likely that they're already searching us, the Chosen One has vanished after all..." Akashi threw Daiki a meaningful look.

"Ugh, seriously?" Kise sighed.

"You haven't even mentioned the worst case, yet. Hogwarts knows that we're gone, and the ministry does so too. What do you think the death eaters are going to do with that information?" Midorima pushed up his glasses.

"Fuck..." Taiga muttered.

"I wanna go home..." Murasakibara wailed, causing Satsuki to turn around to them.

"Hey, all of you knew that this was going to be dangerous. Of course Voldemort will also take this as his chance to attack Daiki as soon as he knows we're not protected by Dumbledore anymore! But we're doing the right thing, all of you are ready to fight for our world, for Hogwarts. No one even wants to imagine what happens if Voldemort gets the Time-Turner into his hands!" she shouted right at them, causing all of them (except Akashi) to flinch.

"Also, please search for cover in the clouds know," the girl added after clearing her throat, directing the Pegasus upwards. Daiki caught a glimpse of faint street lights underneath him and a big city in the distance. Probably London that was illuminating the horizon.

Like he expected it wasn't pleasant at all to fly through clouds. If it wasn't for the glow of the Pegasus, Daiki wouldn't have known in which direction he flew. He could see the silhouettes of Akashi and Taiga beside him, but couldn't tell who was who. Feeling how water droplets were assembling on his face, his hands and clothes, Daiki slowly got colder with every minute passing. It was winter and the sun was almost gone, the water on his skin being close to freezing.

"Great," he huffed, regretting it immediately, now he could also feel the cold wind in his throat and the moist air on his tongue.  
After half an hour, Kise was the first one to start whining.

When they finally agreed to call it a night and found a quiet place with no people or residences around, the group went down. All of them were soaked wet, their hair was sticking to their foreheads and their clothes weighed twice as much as before.

"This was a really bad idea..." Murasakibara commented, his long hair dripping as it was hanging in front of his face.

"Well, I didn't know that it would start raining all of a sudden..." Satsuki groaned, patting the back of the Pegasus that was shaking its long white mane. The Griffin also wasn't amused and had to be calmed down by Tetsuya.

"Alright, I'll cover our camp like yesterday, so we can make a fire to warm up," Akashi sighed.

"Great idea," Midorima grumbled, wringing out the sleeves of his robe when Quaffle suddenly hopped out of his hood, looking at all of them with her big owl eyes as if to say: "Stupid humans, why getting all wet when you can hide inside a hood?" The animal shook its wings and puffed its plumage.

"Daiki, please take that silly bird back, it's almost as arrogant as you," Midorima scoffed, causing Quaffle to start chirping and hooting offended. Daiki was sure the owl gave him the stink eye before hopping over to Taiga, crawling into his sleeve.

When Akashi gave them the go, Satsuki started making a fire after she'd sent everyone away to collect wood. Huddled in blankets, they sat around the bright red flames that oddly reminded Daiki of Taiga's eyes. They sometimes looked blazing like that when he was full of fighting spirit, shining softly when he was smiling at him, and they were deepening when he looked into Daiki's own eyes. But right now their usual brightness was only mirrored by the silently cracking fire, he looked tired, scared somehow.

Daiki raised his hand, placing it on Taiga's nape to comfort him, stroking his warm skin before his hand wandered up to comb through his hair that was drying quickly in front of the fire. The redhead turned to him with a light smile, they agreed on sharing a blanket so they were close already, and even though Daiki could hear Satsuki faintly chatting with Akashi, it felt like the moment was theirs. He leaned a bit closer to Taiga, kissing him softly before looking into his eyes again. The others hadn't seemed to notice, they were all kind of dozing off in front of the fire after that exhausting day. Daiki could swear that Taiga's pupils were a bit wider than before as he leaned in a second time, resting his lips on the redhead's a bit longer. Taiga closed his eyes and Daiki did so too, although he could clearly hear someone whispering behind them.

"Let them be..." someone else whispered back, probably Tetsuya. Daiki wrapped his arms around Taiga as he parted from him, gently pushing his head down, offering him to lay it on his shoulder. But just as he did so, Taiga suddenly flinched, backing away from him.

"Taiga...?" Daiki asked confused, not understanding his intentions. Everyone else payed them attention now too, wondering what had caused Taiga's jerky movement.

"S-sorry... That was..." The redhead cleared his throat, muttering an apology, trying to smile at Daiki, but it was clear that Taiga was nervous in some kind of way as he firmly gripped onto the blanket with one hand.

"It's getting tight for you, isn't it," Akashi suddenly spoke, his gaze seeming even more intimidating across the fire.

"Maybe you should leave," he added.

"W-What do you mean?" Taiga mumbled helplessly while Daiki had problems to understand anything at all.

"How long has it been? Three days? It's about time, so I want you to leave," Akashi repeated harshly, but managed to keep his voice quiet at the same time.

"What the hell is up with you?" Daiki growled at the shorter wizard, taking Taiga's hand in his own. The redhead looked at him surprised, and even though Daiki was curious why Taiga had pulled away all of a sudden, it was more important to protect him from Akashi first.

"Daiki, let go of him. And I do not only mean his hand. It's for the best."

"Guys, what's up?" Kise threw in, but got ignored.

"What the heck are you talking about, Akashi?!"

"I won't allow you two to sleep in one tent this night."   
That managed to anger Daiki even more, how did Akashi dare to get between them just now.

"Fuck you!"

"Watch your mouth, Daiki."  
All the while Taiga had been awfully quiet, looking on the ground.

"Akashi, would you mind explaining yourself?" Midorima entered the conversation.

"It's not me who should be explaining something..." Akashi narrowed his eyes at Taiga who made himself as small as possible, which was weird because normally he'd throw everything right back.

"Alright, guys, that's enough, we don't need any of this right now! I don't know about you, but I'm starving, so I thought since we have the master chef right with us, Taiga could make a soup for us all!" Satsuki interrupted them.

"A soup? With chicken and potatoes and noodles..." Murasakibara murmured dreamily.

"Potatoes _or_ noodles, not both!" Kise replied.

"Do we even have the ingredients for something like that?" Midorima huffed. They were so easy to distract, Daiki thought.

"Yup. Got everything from the kitchens. The only thing you have to do now is being nice to Taiga, so he makes us dinner. And with that I mean _all_ of you!" She gazed into the round sternly, and Daiki thanked her inwardly.

"So would you do this?" Satsuki looked at Taiga with her puppy eyes, not even leaving him the choice to say no.

"Ah, sure, I can do this." He smiled at her hesitantly.

"Great! The rest of you please set up the tents!" She clapped her hands, reaching for her bag. Daiki used the moment where everyone was busy to get the tents, grabbing Taiga's shoulder to make him look at his face.

"Taiga, what... what happened? What did Akashi mean?" He asked him, inwardly screaming for answers.

"I... It was nothing, really. I just felt uncomfortable when the others were suddenly watching us. I'm sorry if I somehow unsettled you, it was just... the moment," the redhead tried to explain with a soft voice, closing his hands around Daiki's.

"If you say so..."  
He was lying.

"But what about Akashi? What's it with three days?"

"I don't know what he's-..."

"What will you do without the Room of Requirement?" Daiki looked at him expectantly, waiting for a response, but Taiga only stared at him with a startled expression.

"Taiga, I got everything! Is this enough to make a soup?" Satsuki came over to them, showing him a pot and several ingredients. Daiki held back a loud groan at that, why now?!

"Uh, yeah, that's okay, but do you have any spices? Salt would be enough," the redhead nodded, throwing Daiki an apologizing look.

"Hey, don't listen to Akashi. You belong to us, especially to Dai-chan," Satsuki smiled at him fondly, placing a hand on his arm in reassurance.

"I guess you're right..." Taiga hummed.

"Thanks for saying that, Satsuki. This idiot is quick to lose his self-confidence," Daiki huffed, patting the redhead's back maybe a bit too violent.

"Then let's make dinner. Is it okay if I stay and watch to learn a bit?" Satsuki grinned at Taiga, said one coughing from Daiki's harsh treatment.

"Sure, no problem," he responded after having cleared his throat.

"Nice! Maybe I can help you cut vegetables and stuff!"  
At that both Daiki and Taiga paled.

"Ah, no, no, it's okay. I think Taiga can handle it better if you don't interfere..." Daiki laughed nervously. They set the pot above the fire and poured water into it, watching how Taiga elegantly cut carrots and leek with his wand, directing them into the pot. Observing the whole process, Daiki started to wonder again. Why had the redhead jerked away from him all of a sudden when he usually was so comfortable around Daiki?   
In the beginning he sure had been a bit hesitant to be that close to him, but now Taiga would use every chance to hold his hand or hug him. Daiki couldn't explain it at all, not believing what the redhead had told him. And the things Akashi had said were confusing him even more.  
It was getting tight for him?  
Three days?

And even now when Taiga stirred the soup and Daiki decided to hug him from behind, his hands were trembling and he held his breath.

"Taiga, what's up?" Daiki hummed lowly, shortly gazing at Satsuki to tell her to stay out of this. She frowned slightly at him before turning around to Daiki's relief and started doing something else.

"What do you mean?" The redhead muttered, continuing to focus on the soup.

"You're behaving weird, as if you're nervous! That's not the first time I'm hugging you for God's sake, but your body is completely stiff!"

"Uh... Sorry..."

"Don't you like me anymore?" Daiki pouted, and to his surprise Taiga flinched, quickly turning around and grabbing is shoulders.

"D-don't say something like that! I'd never-... I'll always be with you! It's just... Of course I'm nervous, I mean it's all over if we get caught... And even death eaters are behind us, I'm just... scared to lose you, I guess because I've been thinking through it a lot," he stuttered, mumbling the last part quietly.

"And that's the truth?" Daiki asked him, his voice sounding more serious than before. Taiga inhaled through his mouth before nodding.

"Yes. Daiki, I... I love you, so..." His voice faded when making eye contact with him, and this time Daiki waited. His heart was jumping in his chest as Taiga finally leaned in to lay his lips on Daiki's. When he wanted to pull back again after a few seconds, Daiki wouldn't let him, placing one hand on the back of Taiga's head while trying to slide his tongue into the redhead's mouth. Taiga let it happen, but only for a moment before he pushed Daiki away.

"T-the soup!" he exclaimed with red cheeks, and Daiki managed to smile again.

"Of course." He should get used to his boyfriend's shyness, he knew he went a bit too far now that they weren't alone. Taiga's kiss was enough prove he wasn't avoiding him in some way, and that calmed him down a bit.

* * *

The fire was burning low when the group gathered again to eat after having set up the tents, Taiga having announced that the soup was ready.

"Kagamicchi! That's so good, really, you're an amazing cook!" Kise expressed his admiration.

"Thanks," Taiga smiled.

"He's right, your food is awesome, Kaga-chin. It was a good idea to take you with us." Murasakibara already devoured his third portion.

"It's unusual, but I have to agree," Midorima muttered like the tsundere he was.

"Just admit that he's a genius!" Satsuki laughed.

"Only when it comes to cooking," Daiki snorted, receiving a light slap on his head from Taiga. He had been busy to watch out that Quaffle wasn't getting too close to the flames, having placed the tiny owl in his lap by now.

"Idiot, don't gulp everything down like that, you'll burn yourself and get sick!" Daiki nagged with one look at Taiga who was obviously enjoying the soup a bit too much.

"Can't help it, this one turned out good," he smiled, a stupid grin on his face.

"You sure know that's a waste of food, don't you," Akashi commented suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Akashicchi! Why are you being this mean to Kagamicchi? He just has a big appetite, and he made the soup so it's only fair if he takes as much as he wants!" Kise replied, wherever he'd taken the courage from to speak against him.

"I have to consent this time. We respect you, Akashi, but this is going a bit too far," Midorima also said. Daiki had the feeling they all were on Taiga's side this time, and maybe not just because he cooked for them.

"As soon as you'll understand, you'll see that I was right," Akashi just continued to glare at Taiga.

"Before this evolves into an animated discussion, please finish up and go to bed. I'll wake you up tomorrow!" Satsuki raised her voice, causing everyone to be quiet.  
They finished eating in silence as a wave of tiredness hit the group. Daiki and Taiga both tried to avoid Akashi, still remembering how the shorter wizard had clearly not wanted them to share a tent this night, whatever he wanted to reach with that. But of course they had no luck and Akashi awaited them in front of their tent.

"You fucking-..."

"Daiki, please, I don't want to pick a fight. I would like to apologize."

That was something the two definitely hadn't expected.

"What...?" Taiga frowned.

"I said I'm sorry. I know I don't have the right to do so, but I have to ask you a favor, Taiga." With that Akashi directed his eyes at the redhead who wore a rather confused expression.

"I know how much Daiki's safety means to you, so I want you to check out the route we're taking tomorrow. It'll only take a few hours, we should be informed about possible threats after all."  
Akashi's request caused Daiki to let his mouth hanging open widely.   
What was his fucking plan? Was that a way to send Taiga away, to get rid of him? Did he want him to get hurt by going on his own?

"No way, I know what you're up to. Why don't you do it yourself?" Daiki glared at him.

"Well, if someone can cope with death eaters, it's Taiga. Also, I need sleep since I'm planning this whole mission with Satsuki, whereas you two only have to fly behind us," Akashi responded.

"Then I'll go with him if it's that important to check the area!"

"No. Did you forget who you are? You'd be an easy target."

"What?! I can fight, it wouldn't be the first time I have to face off death eaters! Also, the task you're giving him is-..." Daiki started shouting offended, but Taiga interrupted him.

"It's okay, Daiki. I can do it. If that's what is needed to gain his trust, I'll do it. Not for you, Akashi, but for the group." Taiga straightened up, looking down on him.

"That's admirable." Akashi's eye slightly twitched as they stared at each other for quite the time. It could only be Daiki's imagination, but he somehow got the feeling that they were communicating. As if there was something that Daiki didn't know, shouldn't know, and the meaning of what Akashi just said was something entirely else.  
Daiki shook his head, he was too tired.

"Then I'll see you later, I guess," he mumbled, raising his head to meet Taiga's eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be right back," he responded softly, noticing from the corner of his eye how Akashi was leaving.

"You don't have to do this," Daiki whispered, taking his hands.

"I know, but I can prove myself that way." Taiga leaned his forehead against Daiki's.

"Take care."

"I will." He pressed a kiss on top of Daiki's head before letting him go. Daiki had his eyes closed, only hearing how Taiga got his broomstick and took off. When he opened his eyes again, he was gone.

* * *

He shouldn't be worried that much. But still, Daiki was turning and tossing inside the sleeping bag, desperately wanting to stay awake until Taiga would return. What if he really got caught by death eaters? What if he was in inconceivable pain right now and Daiki couldn't do anything?? What if a storm came up and blew him off his broomstick, making him fall hundreds of feet and now he was laying somewhere with every bone in his body broken?   
Daiki shuddered. No, no, Taiga knew how to take care of himself. He was experienced when it came to fighting and it also wasn't the first time he'd fly into a storm, being a quidditch player after all. He was fine, and Daiki should calm down.

Although he had promised himself to stay awake until his return, his eyes kept shutting the whole time and his cheeks were already red from the many times he'd slapped himself to stay awake. But it was impossible, he'd been tired the whole day, wanting nothing except sleep, and now... He couldn't fight any longer, his limps grew heavier with every second passing, including his eyelids that let the world around him become dark.

"Please come back," he managed to mumble before sleep overtook him, pulling him away from reality once again.

When Daiki opened his eyes, he was alone. Adding to that, he was at a place where he'd never been before. Looking around, he noted that he stood in front of an estate, a gigantic one to be precise, being almost as big as a small castle. It was surrounded by huge firs that were throwing shadows all over the building and its enormous yard.  
Where was he?

Looking up into the sky, he saw dusky clouds covering the sun. He'd originally thought that it was night because of the darkness, but instead it had been the clouds that were blocking the sun in a kind of unrealistic way. Some rays managed to break through the few rifts of the cloud cover, blazing bright if he looked up. But the light wasn't able to reach the ground, it was just enough for Daiki to see. A cold breeze was hitting him, making him shiver as he watched the grass in front of him ruffle and the firs soughing. The estate in front of him radiated something dark and mysterious, something evil claimed this place. The grey stone walls soaring into the sky had a menacing aura, faint light flickering behind locked windows.

This was a dream, right?  
They were always so real, Daiki sometimes couldn't tell the difference, just like now. He drew his wand, slowly starting to cross the yard with a pounding heart. Where was he? How could he get away from this place?   
A pebble path was leading towards the residence's entry, lined by tall stone statues on both sides, depicting dragons with glowing eyes that seemed to follow Daiki's steps. A high hedge, probably twice as big as Daiki, was defining the terrain, the wind whistling through it again and the sound somehow frightened him.  
He shouldn't be here.

Daiki stopped in his tracks, staring at the dragon statues again when he suddenly felt goosebumps arising on his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. It was only short, but something had been moving in the corner of his eye.

"H-hello?" he croaked, his voice breaking. He could hear his own heartbeat as he warily made his way towards the corner where he'd seen the movement.

"Is there someone?" he gulped, slowly rounding one of the dragon statues while holding his wand in front of him.

_Fuck,_ he thought as he suddenly heard someone breathing. And out of nowhere, something jumped him, wrapping itself tightly around his waist. Daiki screamed, stumbling backwards and falling. He frantically started to hit the something that was still clinging onto him until noticing it was a human.   
A small boy was whimpering at the beating he'd just received from an overly anxious Daiki who tried to calm down and immediately felt bad for what he'd done.

"Shit. Hey there, are you alright?" He carefully sat up, the boy having buried his face in Daiki's robe. He looked small and fragile, thin arms were holding onto him tightly.

"Where are your parents? How did you get here?" Daiki tried, but the kid didn't answer. His body twitched when Daiki laid a hand on the tiny back.

"I'm cold," a scared voice whispered and Daiki noticed how the boy was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts. He didn't even have shoes.

"I can give you my robe," Daiki offered, still a bit surprised. The boy nodded, keeping his head down as Daiki took off his Gryffindor robe. He sniveled, wrapping himself inside the thick material that almost looked like a blanket on him.

"Better?"  
The boy nodded again, Daiki still couldn't see his face, just his dark disheveled hair.

"We should go find your parents. Where are they?" He tried another time, but the boy remained silent.

"Hey..."  
The kid didn't pay attention to him, instead he was fumbling with the sewn Gryffindor sign on Daiki's robe.

"Can I go there too?" he muttered, his voice high and somehow pained. Daiki frowned shortly before answering.

"Of course. You can go where you want, the sorting hat will respect your decision."

"My mother says only people who die early go there, but I like the colors better than the ones of the snake."  
The response startled Daiki, engulfing them in a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"Why does she say something like that?"

"She wants me to go to the snake. The one with green and silver, you know? She says the rest is scum."

"That's... That's not true!" Daiki furrowed his brows concerned, grabbing the boy's tiny hands. He almost let them go again, they were cold as ice.

"We should concentrate on getting you home! What are you even doing in this place?"

"What do you mean?" The boy looked up for the first time, pointing at the dark building to his left side.

"I'm at home."  
Daiki's breath faltered as two big red eyes were looking at him, split eyebrows frowning in confusion.

"Taiga...?" He whispered, the small figure in front of him blinking expectantly, still wrapped in Daiki's robe.

"What are you doing in our yard by the way?" The boy raised one slender arm to poke his cheek.

"You're not real," he stated.

"Taiga, what... How?" Daiki muttered shocked, staring at the child in front of him. He couldn't be older than six, but Daiki was sure. That _had_ to be Taiga, he knew those eyes.

"You should be somewhere else, right?" The boy returned the robe to him.

"I'm feeling better now," he added and Daiki suddenly had a good look on just _how_ skinny his body was. His bones were clearly visible through his pale skin and when Daiki laid one hand on his back, he could feel his spinal column and his shoulder blades poking out of his baggy shirt.

"Are you eating enough?" Daiki asked worried.

"Of course! I'm eating all the time, but I'm still hungry, even now! You got something with you?" Taiga grabbed his hand in anticipation, his own were bony, small and powerless.

"No, I'm sorry..." And the boy let go of him again with a disappointed look.

"My parents are wondering why I'm getting thinner, even though I'm eating a lot. My dad orders many doctors to our house and lets them examine me, but none of them can tell what's up with me! Honestly, I'm wondering how all of them come to our house, but I never happen to see one of them leaving! Once I was looking through the window the whole day until my mother told me that the doctors are leaving through the oven with floo powder! Sounds cool, right? But weirdly, she never allows me to watch..." Little Taiga sulked, waiting for a response from Daiki.

"Is that so..." He looked aside, having a presentiment that explained why Taiga never saw the doctors leaving.

"Are you freezing again?" Daiki asked, noticing how the boy was shivering.

"Yeah, and I'm hungry! Maybe we should go inside. Oh, but my parents don't like strangers! But it should be okay, you're not real after all." His tender fingers wrapped around Daiki's wrist, he motivated him to stand up again.

"How can you tell I'm not real..." Daiki scrunched his brows in bewilderment. And why wasn't he scared of him if he thought that Daiki was just an illusion?

"You came out of nowhere, and you know my name, yet you're obviously too old to be my friend. I imagine a lot of things!" Taiga grinned at him widely. His grin had always looked childish, even when he was ten years older than now. But something was wrong with him, he wasn't acting like a child. He was different from how a kid was supposed to be.

"So... we're going inside now?" Daiki asked as he stood up.

"Yeah!" From one moment to another Taiga's happy face suddenly fell, and he looked somehow sad.

"No..." he muttered in contrast to his earlier response.

"What?" Daiki asked confused.

"No, I don't want to go back. They said something weird, that's why I went outside in the first place."

"What did they say?" He bent down to be at eye level with him, not asking who _they_ were. The boy folded his hands in front of his body before averting his gaze.

"They... They said I shouldn't be able to live..." He was looking at Daiki helplessly like he'd done so many times before, just ten years later.

"Why?" Daiki whispered as Taiga's lips began quivering.

"They said my heart isn't beating, but that can't be true, right?" He was staring at Daiki in despair.

"So you can feel it beating?"

"Of course! It's not different from yesterday or any day at all!" Taiga responded, laying one hand on his chest, clicking his tongue to imitate the rhythm.

"I don't understand. If you can feel your heart beating, how can it be that others think it's not?" Daiki muttered.

"I don't know," Taiga shrugged.

"Even you can tell that it's beating, right?" The boy grinned excitedly, grabbing Daiki's hand to place it on his chest.

"See? I'm right! I don't know why they keep lying to me!"  
Daiki couldn't respond as he set his hand on the child's chest.   
There was nothing, no heartbeat, nothing at all. Maybe he couldn't feel anything because his fingers were cold from the wind, so he pressed a bit harder.  
Nothing.

"It's faster than yours, right?" Taiga grinned at him as if he'd won a race. Daiki suddenly found it hard to swallow, he kept on feeling for his heartbeat, but in vain. There was no life inside that small body.

_I imagine a lot of things!_   
Taiga's high voice echoed through his head.

That wasn't possible, it just... couldn't be true.

"Daiki? Why are you that quiet all of a sudden?" Taiga pouted at him with that cute childish face of his and Daiki finally retreated his hand.

"How do you know my name...?" he whispered roughly.

"You're not real, so I can name you like I want!" The boy responded, blinking at him like before. Daiki just noticed how often Taiga did that in a conversation.

"Your heart, it's..." Daiki started, but couldn't continue. He wasn't able to say it.

"What's with it?" the small redhead smiled widely, laying one hand on his heart to mimick it with the clicking of his tongue again.  
No, Daiki couldn't say it.

"I... I have to go," he muttered, carefully stepping away from the boy who was happily following his movements.

"Why?" Taiga looked puzzled, catching Daiki's arm and clinging onto it.

"I want you to stay! We can play something!"

"I'm sorry, Taiga, but like you said I don't belong here," Daiki replied, pulling his arm out of the other's grip. It was easier than he expected, the boy had no strength at all in his weak looking body.

"But why? Don't leave! Daiki, please, don't leave!"  
Daiki felt how his heart got teared apart.

"I'll come back, I promise!" he said, just to calm the upset boy down.

"No, I want you to stay! Please! You're my only friend!"   
Daiki continued to move back, Taiga stumbling after him.

"Sorry..." he said once again, fastening his steps.

"Daiki..." The boy whimpered as tears were streaming down his face. He tried running up towards him, but his legs were too weak and he fell. Daiki gave everything to resist the urge to rush to Taiga, to hug the small boy and tell him he'd stay forever. But he needed to get out of this. It was just a dream, nothing of this was real. _His_ Taiga was waiting for him, he must've already returned, probably laying next to him in the sleeping bag.

"Daiki..." The child sobbed, not able to pull himself up again. Daiki couldn't bear it any longer, he turned on his heels, running away to leave the estate behind.

He ran all the way across the yard, not daring to look back once. The sky was as dark as before, but there were less and less sun rays getting through. The long grass was rustling in the wind as he ran over the meadow in front of Taiga's house to leave it behind as quick as he could.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up," he murmured to himself. He panicked when suddenly seeing a shadow to his right side, hearing someone else running through the grass. Daiki cursed inwardly, his dream evolving into a nightmare as he was suddenly being chased. He had to stop abruptly when someone appeared in front of him. A dark, tall silhouette with red glowing eyes. He'd seen him before, Taiga's father, and he knew he had no other choice than to run. Daiki turned around to bolt into the other direction, but Kagami appeared in front of him again.

"W-What do you want?!" Daiki panted scared as he once again failed to escape. Kagami smiled, his face suddenly appearing right in front of him.  
Daiki failed to breathe when noticing those familiar features.  
Instead of his father, it was Taiga standing in front of him, but not the one he knew.

His smile wasn't kind at all as he stared at Daiki with cold red eyes, his skin was as white as snow, and he was taller than him, but also leaner. It was no wonder he'd mistaken him for his father because there obviously wasn't a human standing in front of him, but a vampire. Daiki kept staring at him, unable to say anything while Taiga still had that unreadable smile playing around his lips. A cold hand was curling around his wrist, sharp nails digging into his skin, but Daiki was too paralyzed to move away. Like in slow motion, Taiga lead Daiki's hand up to his chest, letting it rest there for a while. And this time he wasn't surprised about the missing heartbeat. Taiga let go of his hand, staring into Daiki's eyes intently with his own slit pupils. Raising a finger, the redhead silently pointed at the Gryffindor sign on Daiki's robe, causing him to have a look at Taiga's. He also wore a Hogwarts uniform, but instead of the golden lion, a snake was leering at him.

"H-how..." Daiki whispered, his voice shaking. He was scared, but Taiga was his friend, wasn't he? He loved him, did he??

"Not how. Why."   
Daiki didn't recognize that voice. It sounded raucous and throaty, lacking the warm and calming tone he came to love. Taiga's eyes intensified, and it felt like he was burning holes through Daiki.

"Taiga, we're..." _Friends._ The word stuck in his throat as Taiga suddenly flashed his fangs at him.

"Are we?" he growled lowly when Daiki caught a glimpse of the inside of Taiga's wrist. The tattooed skull of the dark mark was staring right back at him, along with the snake winding itself out of the skeleton's jaw. Daiki flinched, trying to flee, but it was useless as Taiga's hand squeezed around his wrist in a vice grip.

"We should go back. Everyone's waiting just for you." With that the redhead smiled at him, starting to pull him towards the estate again, leaving Daiki no chance to escape.

* * *

Daiki woke up with sweat running down his face, making his eyes sting. He was panting heavily, his chest was about to burst and he was shivering.

"Fuck. That was realistic," he mumbled to himself, just to hear his own voice. He noticed the body lying next to him and managed to force a smile out of him. Taiga had returned, sleeping peacefully. His kind, sincere, _living_ boyfriend was here with him, warming Daiki.

"Thank God. Fuck, thank God..." Daiki tried to calm his breathing, wrapping his arms around Taiga tightly and laying his head on his chest.

"Thank God," he continued to mutter.

"A dream. Nothing more, but a stupid dream." Feeling how Taiga's presence slowly put him at ease, he closed his eyes again. His Taiga, his loving boyfriend, everything was alright. It was morning already, he should try to sleep again until Satsuki would wake them up. Yeah, that sounded good. Nothing could happen to him that close to Taiga.

Daiki's eyes snapped open all of a sudden as he stopped breathing out of shock.

Where...? Where was Taiga's heartbeat? All the anxiety came back in a flow, making his eyes widen in fear as he desperately felt for the other's heart to give a sign.  
Nothing.  
It was too much for him, and before he could hold back, he began screaming.


	38. An unspoken truth

Upon Daiki's scream, Taiga was awake immediately, sitting up abruptly with wide eyes.

"Daiki?? What's up?!"   
Daiki hyperventilated, not able to control his breathing anymore. Did he just imagine it? No, there definitely hadn't been a heartbeat.

"Daiki!!" Taiga looked at him scared, his eyes still widened as he grabbed his shoulders, seeing if he was hurt somewhere, if anything happened to him. Daiki felt his breath rattling in his lungs. What... What had he even thought? That Taiga was... dead? People normally thought so when someone's heart wasn't beating anymore. But the redhead had been breathing, right? Fuck, had he??

The shock made his eyes tear up, his vision blurring as he felt something wet rolling down his cheek. Seeing that Daiki wasn't physically hurt, Taiga figured he'd had a nightmare and quickly hugged him tightly.

"Shhh, Daiki, it's alright. I'm here..." the redhead whispered calmingly, pulling him close and rubbing his back. He pushed him into his chest, one hand on the back of Daiki's head to stroke his hair. Daiki whimpered silently upon hearing Taiga's heart racing in his chest. Everything was fine now, wasn't it? But why kept his breath hitching, why couldn't he stop the tears? Taiga's body was warm and comforting, protecting and shielding Daiki from what he'd heard, seen and felt. And it was calming, but upsetting him at the same time.

"Shhh..." Taiga hummed softly, continuing to run his hand over Daiki's back to make him feel better. He started to wonder if he'd imagined it. It was possible that he'd still been dreaming when he noticed that Taiga's heartbeat was gone. But it was back again, so maybe his brain just made that up. But he knew deep inside him that he was lying to himself right now, that he'd been awake, that he hadn't imagined a thing.

"I'm here, it's okay." Taiga continued to just hold him, he was the one who Daiki fell in love with, and he knew Taiga loved him back as much. He slowly started to relax when their tent suddenly got opened from outside, and people were shouting his name.

"Dai-chan!! What happened?!" Satsuki was the first to stick her head inside, but got pushed aside by Akashi who made his way into the tent. It happened so fast that Daiki had no time to react. Akashi was pointing with his wand at Taiga who was still hugging Daiki tightly.

"Stupefy!" The red flash hit him, causing him to black out immediately. Daiki felt how Taiga's arms around him loosened and the redhead fell back unconsciously.

"W-What..." Daiki's voice failed as Akashi rushed over to him, gripping his shoulders to have a better look at him.

"What... What have you done?" he croaked as he carefully took Taiga's limp hand into his own.

"False alarm," Akashi only mumbled with narrowed eyes while Daiki felt like he was specifically inspecting his neck.

"What the fuck was that for?!" He roared, finally finding his voice back.

"Stay calm, Daiki, I had to-..."

"Stay calm? _Stay calm?!_ You fucking midget, why don't you go and fuck yourself?!" He definitely had enough of Akashi as he shouted those words right at his face, letting go of Taiga's hand to grab him by the collar and push him down. Akashi made a startled noise when Daiki launched at him and wrestled him to the ground.

"Dai-chan!! Stop that!" Satsuki shouted fearfully, not daring to get between them.

"Aominecchi!" The others were squeezing themselves inside the tent, trying to pull Daiki away from Akashi who seemed to have problems getting oxygen. Midorima and Murasakibara were dragging them apart, Daiki trying to break free, shouting insults at Akashi who was gasping for air.

"Would you stop moving, Aomine!" Midorima gritted his teeth, needing Kise's help for Daiki to not throw himself at Akashi again. The latter one was brushing off his clothes, coughing a few times while trying to hold back his anger himself.

"Why did you do that?! Why the fuck did you do that?!" Daiki roared.

"Daiki, for God's sake, he is just unconscious!" Akashi raised his voice, giving him the most dangerous glare Daiki had ever seen. But he was so done with him, Akashi could rot in hell for what he cared.

"Dai-chan, I know what he did was wrong, but nothing happened, so please get yourself together!" Satsuki went over to him and gently grabbed his shoulders to make him look at her.

"Daiki, listen! It was necessary to do this, you were screaming and the only one close to you was Taiga, so I figured that-..." Akashi got interrupted by Daiki again, his blood boiling by only hearing his voice.

"That he'd hurt me or what?! Are you fucking serious?! You did that because you don't like him, because you're too narrow-minded to even understand love!" Daiki spat.

"Fine, this was the last time I tried to protect you then..." Akashi hissed, turning away to leave.

"Protect me, my ass! Get fucking lost!" Daiki shouted after him.

"Aominecchi..." Kise looked at him scared, no one had ever dared to mess with Akashi like that. But the bastard should know his place.

"Let go," Daiki growled at Midorima who was still holding his arms. Now that Akashi was gone, he slowly calmed down, kneeling down next to Taiga. He heard behind him how Satsuki shooed everyone else out of the tent.

"Daiki." Tetsuya laid one hand on his shoulder, sitting down next to him. Daiki gritted his teeth, having heaved up Taiga's head into his lap, the redhead looking like he was sleeping peacefully.

"Fucking Akashi..." he growled as he carefully started to stroke his boyfriend's hair.

"Dai-chan, it's okay now. Taiga will wake up soon." Satsuki sat down to his other side, looking at him softly.

"He really has something against him, I don't understand it..."

"We know he overreacted, but he seems to be worrying about you... in some kind of weird way..." Tetsuya responded with a sigh.

"Tch." Daiki scowled and he felt Satsuki taking his hand.

"Leaving Akashi aside for a moment, what happened, Dai-chan? Why did you scream?"

"Just a nightmare..." he huffed, gazing at Taiga again and caressing his cheek with his thumb.

"You have these quite often, do you?" Tetsuya asked.

"Yeah..."

"Are you sure it only was a nightmare?"   
Daiki furrowed his brows at that.

"I... I don't know. It seemed like it because it just couldn't be real, but..." He shuddered.

"Dai-chan, please tell us what happened. We're here for you!" Satsuki rubbed his back with her hand that was so much smaller than Taiga's. He wished the redhead would be awake again, still holding him in his arms while softly humming to calm him down.

"I... It was weird, it didn't even have to do with Voldemort..." he muttered.

"But with Taiga, right?" Tetsuya completed his sentence.

"How do you know?" Daiki frowned at him, having wrapped his arms around Taiga's torso, so that his head was resting against Daiki's chest.

"Otherwise you wouldn't have been so upset about it," the short wizard figured.

"I guess you're right..."

"Just tell us everything, Dai-chan. You can trust us!"  
Daiki had considered to at least tell them about what he'd seen, but not what had happened after he woke up. But maybe it was better to do that too, Satsuki would have a logical explanation for it, he didn't have to withstand this on his own.

"I was... at a house, more like a villa. It was dark outside, although the sun was shining, and the place itself, it was... kind of menacing," Daiki tried to express the images that were still stuck in his mind. He told his friends how he'd met a younger version of Taiga, how thin and ill the small boy had seemed. When he was about to mention the missing heartbeat, he paused. The other two briefly looked at each other before facing Daiki again.

"Daiki, we know that... Taiga's father was a vampire," Tetsuya said to his surprise.

"What? How?" Daiki's eyes widened.

"We found out. It's not that difficult if you observe him," Satsuki answered with a gentle smile.

"Really..." Daiki mumbled, looking at Taiga who had his eyes closed as before. He placed his forehead on Taiga's hair with a sigh.

"You love him, right?" Tetsuya said, observing Daiki's actions.

"Of course! I'd do everything for him!" Daiki replied slightly offended.

"And there's no problem with it if he loves you back just as much!" Satsuki hummed kindly, she always sounded comforting like that.

"He said he'd die for me..." Daiki whispered, hugging his unconscious boyfriend even closer.

"Hopefully there's no need for him to do so, but of course he would. He has a good heart," Tetsuya smiled.

"About the heart..." Daiki gulped before continuing to recount his dream. Satsuki and Tetsuya stared at him when he told them how Taiga's six year old self had thought he was imagining Daiki as well as the beating of his heart.  
But the second part of his dream hadn't made sense at all. Taiga wasn't a death eater, nor did he look like a typical vampire.

"Dai-chan, after everything you've told us, I think I may have an explanation. If we suppose that what you said is based on real events, you've seen the past."

"But what about-..." Daiki got silenced by Satsuki who wasn't done yet.

"As for the second part, you saw something that wasn't real or didn't make any sense at all, but..." She looked at both of them with a serious expression.

"Since you're connected to Voldemort in some way, you have visions. Sometimes about the past, sometimes about the present, but never about the future. The only thing we can assume is that you saw another reality. A reality where Taiga followed in his parents' footsteps which he'd never do if he'd had a choice..."

"What does that mean...?" Daiki asked, his voice trembling. Satsuki made a small pause to collect her thoughts before answering.

"It means that Voldemort _will_ get the Time-Turner, changes the past and rules over the wizarding world. And you saw that changed reality where the present is different from ours," she concluded.

"Fuck, does that mean we lost already?!" Daiki faced her with wide eyes.

"No, if it were that easy for him, we already would be in that other reality. But we're still here, and you're alive which means that we're going to fight," Tetsuya tried to explain.

"Wait, what-... I don't understand, h-how...?!"

"It's alright, Dai-chan, leave the thinking to us. You'll take care of Taiga and as soon as he wakes up, we'll be on our way to Durmstrang again." Satsuki stood up, gently ruffling his hair before giving Tetsuya a sign to exit the tent.

"Daiki, you know we're always with you." Tetsuya patted his shoulder one last time before Daiki was left alone. He then noticed that he hadn't been able to tell them about what had happened after he woke up. Maybe it was better this way, maybe not. He was too disturbed anyways right now, what Satsuki had told him wasn't exactly helping him to relax. His head just needed a break, goddamnit...

Daiki warily placed his hand on Taiga's chest, just to be sure. He sighed relieved when he felt his heart beating. It was slow, but steady. Daiki closed his eyes, now he could do nothing but wait for Taiga to wake up. Sitting there for quite a while and holding the redhead in his arms, he buried his face in Taiga's hair. The familiar scent calmed him down, making him feel safe although the redhead still wasn't moving a finger.

Daiki looked at his face, his handsome features, his smooth and healthy looking skin. He was so much different from the boy he'd seen in his sleep. What he'd heard from his friends was upsetting him, he didn't want Taiga to become the way he'd seen him. Daiki wished he'd never have to let him go again, that he'd stay in his arms like that forever.  
Taiga's hand suddenly twitched and he turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes together.

"Hey, Taiga?" Daiki was quick to look at his face, seeing how the redhead's eyes struggled to open.

"Daiki..." he muttered unintelligibly, drawing his brows together.

"What... happened?" Taiga tried to heave himself up, but his limps gave in and he collapsed on top of Daiki, causing them both to fall backwards.

"Ugh..." Daiki groaned when his head connected with the ground and Taiga's heavy body pressed the air out of him.

"Sorry..." Taiga cleared his throat, slowly gaining the control back. He was about to stand up, but Daiki quickly wrapped his arms around him and pulled him to his chest.

"Daiki?" he mumbled, letting the other embrace him.

"You're such a big idiot!" Daiki tried to cover his anxiousness with a pout as he tightened his arms around his boyfriend.

"Huh? What did I do?" Taiga frowned at him, his arms hanging to his side.

"I... I woke up and-..." Daiki hiccuped, everything came back now, the shock having been clouded by his anger as Akashi had knocked him out.

"Your freaking heartbeat was gone! It just wasn't there anymore! Fuck, I thought you were dead!!"

"Daiki, you're close to crushing my ribcage..." Taiga pressed out roughly, causing Daiki to quickly loosen his arms around him.

"S-sorry. It's just... I was really scared! Heck, you could've told me!"

"Daiki, Daiki, calm down. It's fine, it's rare that this happens and it was my fault I forgot to tell you. Don't worry about it, alright?" Taiga reached up to cup his face with his warm hands.

"It never happened before, so of course I was thinking you had a heart attack and died or something like that!"

"I'm sorry, really. I owe you," Taiga sighed, leaning down to peck Daiki's lips.

"An explanation, that's what you owe me," Daiki muttered, not missing the brief look of sadness on Taiga's face.

"Yeah, I know," he whispered, pulling himself up.

"Whatever it is..." Daiki also stood up, grabbing Taiga's arm and leaning his forehead against his.

"I love you, okay?"

"Okay," Taiga nodded. Daiki placed one hand on the redhead's nape, resting the other on his back as he inched closer. His boyfriend wrapped his arms around his waist, eliminating the remaining space between them. When their lips touched, Daiki opened his mouth to lick Taiga's bottom lip, the latter one humming pleased, searching Daiki's tongue with his own. They soon were lost in a heated kiss, not noticing how someone peered into their tent.

"I see everything's back to normal!" Daiki turned around with a scowl at the chirping voice, just to see Kise sporting a light blush on his face.

"Get lost," he growled.

"A-ah, sure. But you should better get started or else Momocchi will make you fly over the English Channel in your pajamas!" Kise quickly fled with a giggle. Daiki shook his head when he heard Taiga chuckling behind him.

"I think we should hurry up then."

"Yeah." Daiki nodded absentmindedly.

* * *

When they went outside, he noticed Satsuki staring at the sky with a frown. It wasn't completely dark, but the sunrise would still take its time.

"Oh, look who decided to show up," she rolled her eyes at the two, but had to smile.

"As you can see, the clouds are gone. At least they'll appear again in a few hours, so we don't have to pause for another day..." the girl sighed.

"Great, why were we in a hurry again?" Daiki cocked one eyebrow, secretly happy about the break. But when he turned to Taiga, the latter one was staring at the ground while covering his mouth with one hand.

"Uh... Is there something?" Daiki asked with a frown, the spot where Taiga was looking at contained nothing but plain grass. He saw a slight change in the redhead's eyes when said one shortly looked up to him.

"N-no..." he responded, letting his hand fall to his side.

"Then what's up?" Daiki stepped towards him, but his boyfriend jumped back.

"Taiga, are you alright?" Satsuki had also noticed his weird behavior.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Taiga smiled, a smile that could've tricked anyone, but not Daiki.

"Tai-..."

"Taiga, may I have a word with you?" Akashi suddenly joined their conversation.

"After you knocked him out like that?! No thanks," Daiki scoffed, noticing how even Taiga was glaring at the shorter wizard.

"I wasn't talking to you, Daiki. Now, Taiga, I'm sorry I had to take the measure to do that, but I hope you understand. I'm just as concerned about Daiki as you are."

"Just quit your bullshit!"

"Would you mind shutting up, please?" Akashi narrowed his eyes at him. Even the others were now listening to them, slightly alarmed because of the earlier conflict.

"Taiga, I'd like to have a small chat with you about last night where you agreed to check out our route. A face-to-face conversation..." he said with a warning gaze at Daiki who gritted his teeth.

"O-okay, right," Taiga agreed reluctantly.

"But-..." Daiki could only watch how Akashi signalized Taiga to follow him. What the heck...?  
He'd never been that confused before by the start of a day. He silently watched how Akashi was talking to Taiga in the distance, the former one seemed angry at something the redhead said, and Daiki was close to just walk over to them and set an end to this. Just as he did so, Akashi turned away, leaving Taiga alone.

Daiki was about to join his boyfriend again to ask him what Akashi had told him, why he was behaving weird since yesterday, but upon seeing Taiga's clenched jaw and the way his fingers nervously twitched at his sides, Daiki stopped in his tracks. It was clear that something was up with him. Something he'd promised to tell Daiki, but hadn't done so.

Suddenly there was a voice inside his head, whispering the answer to everything.   
An answer that couldn't be possible, that made Daiki wish he was dreaming if it were true, it was a possibility he'd intentionally supressed. But even though it didn't make sense to one half of what he knew, it did to the other.  
No, Daiki shook his head. No, Taiga would've told him that much, it couldn't be...  
Could it?

Taiga suddenly looked over to him, not moving one inch. Daiki hesitated before slowly starting to approach him, the distance between them was at least thirty feet. If it was true what he was thinking...  
Daiki came to a halt again as he remembered the corpses inside the Room of Requirement, their empty eyes, their screaming faces and grey skin.

The redhead stared at him a bit longer, he was too far away to read his facial expression, but the way his shoulders slumped, Daiki could tell he was... pained somehow. He willed his thoughts aside, wasn't that his Taiga? He needed help, he needed him! Especially after he'd talked to Akashi!  
But as Daiki got closer, Taiga suddenly turned away. He wasn't running, but for whatever reason, he quickly made his way into the forest.

"Taiga!" Daiki shouted with a frown. This day was getting weirder and weirder. He wanted to run after him, to catch up to him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing so.

"Let him go."  
Daiki turned around with a snarl as he recognized the voice he'd already heard too often this morning.

"You again... Name me one fucking reason I shouldn't rip off your head!"

"Let's stay civilized, Daiki. And to be honest, I'm sure you're not able to do that." Akashi smiled his sadistic smile at him, sounding as stern as ever.

"You wanna try out?" Daiki scowled.

"You're clearly upset, and not just because of me. But I know something you're desperate to find out..."

"What's up with Taiga? What did you do? Did you tell him to leave so you can finally get rid of him?!" Daiki barked. He should've ran after Taiga, he should've stopped him!

"No. But I do know why he avoids you, why he's lying to you," Akashi replied, the smile still remaining on his face as he knew that he'd hit the nail on the head.

"He's not avoiding me! He was close to me the entire time!"

"Until now." Akashi started to walk away from him.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Daiki growled furiously.

"If you want the truth, come into my tent. We're drawing too much attention for a conversation like this." Akashi was right, Satsuki and Tetsuya were eyeing them suspiciously while Murasakibara and Kise had stopped to pet the Pegasus, and Midorima had looked up from the book he'd been reading.

"Fine..." Daiki hissed, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

"You know I'm not fond of your relationship with your beloved Half-breed, and that's because I know the way his mind and body are working. The truth will probably hurt you, even if you're prepared for it. You may not want to hear it, but it's necessary before there's going to be... an accident," Akashi spoke as he opened the tent's zipper, letting Daiki inside first. Like the other tents, it was bigger from the inside than it looked like. They both sat down across each other, Daiki continuing to scowl.

"I want the truth, and whatever it is, I won't leave Taiga!" he stated determined, although he could feel a pang in his chest at those words as he was doubting himself. He didn't know if he was strong enough for the truth, at least if it really was what he thought it was. Because if that was the case...

"Taiga really must be scared to tell you, that's no wonder. Even a creature like him doesn't want other people to think bad of him."

"Stop insulting him like that!" Daiki bared his teeth.

"You know that he's a Half-Vampire, but even though you posses that knowledge, you repress it because he seems so human to you. His ancestry makes him something special, you could even call him an improved version of a vampire. Why do you think Voldemort wants to have him that desperately? Probably not just because he can pretend to be innocent..."  
Daiki was about to protest, but Akashi silenced him by continuing.

"The real reason is that he can disguise himself as a human, he can step into the sunlight without burning to ashes, he can eat normal food, he has a beating heart and a living body. But he's still as dangerous as a vampire. Do you understand, Daiki? He's perfect for any kind of physical conflict, including war. You could go as far and say he's made for that purpose only. I was always wondering if his parents really loved him or just wanted to create a weapon for Voldemort's army."  
Daiki could only gape at Akashi, his words stuck in his throat.

"No. No, I don't understand! This has nothing to do with what is happening right now! I already knew most of that, and nothing of it is Taiga's fault!" he replied stubbornly, staring at the other enraged. The corner of Akashi's mouth twitched in amusement.

"Of course Taiga is not completely ideal. Maybe you noticed that his body fails to work the right way sometimes. It doesn't really affect him, but it scares you, right?"

"How do you know all that?!"

"Tatsuya. He was Taiga's closest friend and informed me about him as well as he could," Akashi responded.

"Asshole..." Daiki muttered and felt Akashi's gaze hardening.

"If he hadn't told me everything, none of us would be aware of the danger we're in."

"What danger?!" Daiki's hands cramped on the ground, being able to feel the grass under the tent's fabric.

"Daiki, what do vampires do?" Akashi asked him as if Daiki was a stupid child that was slow on the uptake.

"That's-... But Taiga eats normal food! You just said so! He has no reason to..." There was that voice inside him again that told him it made sense. Daiki shook his head violently. No, it didn't make sense at all!

"Do you have another explanation why he refuses to get too close to you since yesterday evening?"

"But that's not possible!" Daiki recalled how Taiga had hugged him earlier, how he'd kissed him... But that got contradicted by how he'd moved away from him in front of the fire and how he'd covered his mouth when standing next to him, as if he'd tried not to...

"You're lying! I don't believe you!" Daiki growled, although he knew it wasn't about believing. But they were talking about a frightening truth, an unspoken one.

"Daiki, did he already tell you what happened at Durmstrang?" Akashi asked, his eyes fixed on him, being curious for his reaction.

"Yeah, he did..."

"And the outcome?"

"He said he got angry and hurt the guy, making the headmaster sending him to Azkaban," Daiki concluded tensely.

"Wouldn't you think sending him to Azkaban because of a small fight is kind of exaggerated?" Akashi raised one eyebrow.

"Apparently the asshole got a permanent injury or whatever, and the school was already afraid of Taiga because of his parents." Daiki narrowed his eyes, causing Akashi to laugh bitterly.

"No, Daiki. The asshole you're referring to died a quite painful death," he corrected him, his voice serious again. Daiki unintentionally gasped for air as he seemed to have stopped breathing.

"No, no, you're wrong. Taiga told me that he just hurt him. He couldn't have... killed..." Daiki suddenly felt dizzy.

"I suppose you still remember our first D.A.D.A. lesson this year, the one with the Boggarts? Sure, Taiga being afraid of himself was the highlight, but maybe you're able to remember Tatsuya's Boggart as well..." Akashi's yellow eye gleamed dangerously as he watched Daiki.

"As if I'd remember that pretty boy's fear..." he scoffed, but tried to recall the lesson anyways. There was Satsuki's Boggart, Tetsuya's, Haizaki's, his own, and then...  
His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered the zombie-like guy with his brutally torn neck that had made his head hanging on one shoulder. He shuddered. Could it be that...

"I can see, you do remember. And yes, Tatsuya's Boggart resembles the mutual friend he'd had with Taiga at Durmstrang."  
Daiki couldn't respond to that. He felt sick, his vision was kind of blurring, everything he could see was Akashi's smile. He began sweating, but he felt cold at the same time.

"Like I thought that probably was too much for you. But it should be better this way." Akashi's words were ringing in his ears, and Daiki had to close his eyes for a moment.

He was still dreaming, right?  
He was still laying next to Taiga in the sleeping bag, and he'd wake up soon.

"Just accept it, Daiki," the other muttered lowly before exiting the tent and leaving him alone.

"No. No..." he murmured weakly, his hands clenching to fists.

"You're lying. You're lying." Daiki repeated that sentence although Akashi couldn't hear him anymore, but he couldn't believe it.

Taiga had killed someone.  
Daiki squeezed his eyes together painfully as he remembered the bloody neck of the Boggart, one part of it missing as if someone had ripped it out.  
Not just someone...  
Daiki buried his face between his knees, he wanted to wake up. He slapped himself, once, twice, but nothing happened, he was hoping in vain.

The more he thought about what Akashi had said, the more sense it made and Daiki hated himself for it. He should stick to Taiga instead, being there for him, but...  
The boy he fell in love with had been lying to him ever since they first met.

Daiki's body was shaking as he stood up. He was going to find Taiga, a final confrontation was his only hope that the redhead wasn't...  
He felt ill when leaving the tent to make his way into the forest. If Taiga had killed this one guy, if he really needed... something else to survive, Daiki wouldn't know how to take it. Hearing it from Akashi already made him forget how to breathe correctly, but if he'd had to hear it from Taiga...  
He could see his despaired face right in front of him, how he'd stare at Daiki with a pained expression. He imagined him to cry, to fall to the ground because Daiki found out.

Although he was scared, he had to do it, his heart aching for an explanation from Taiga. He'd love to hear that the redhead would deny what Akashi had told him, that the latter one was just making things up to force the two of them apart.   
The corpses came up to his mind again, the pictures never leaving him alone. What if it had been Taiga? What was Daiki going to do if the redhead admitted to have killed someone?

He set his first foot into the forest as it suddenly started to snow. The sun was rising, throwing its rays through bare tree trunks, the treetops being leafless due to the winter season. Daiki didn't know why, but he suddenly remembered the broken heart in his teacup from Divination.   
Was this going to be it?  
Would this be the end?  
Daiki had problems to swallow, he didn't want to lose Taiga! The redhead was the most important person in the whole wide world to him, he never wanted to let go of him!

But then again, he was in love with a liar, someone who'd killed maybe or probably more than one human. What if Daiki had been in love with an illusion the entire time?  
In the end his anger won, gaining control of Daiki as he ran into the silent forest. No birds were singing, not other animals were showing up, not even the wind was rustling through the treetops.

"Taiga!" he shouted as soon as he had ran a good hundred meters across the frozen forest floor, every step of his betraying his position with a loud crack of branches and hardened leaves.

"Taiga!!" Snow was slowly covering the ground, tiny flakes were sticking to Daiki's clothes and hair, settling down on his shoes as he stood still.

"Taiga!!" he roared one last time, his exertion making him pant. The redhead didn't need to be as close as someone else to hear his voice. Maybe he could even hear his footsteps or his heartbeat right now. Daiki looked at the ground, watching the foliage's frost glistening in the sun, the light getting broken by the number of trees blocking the rays.

He immediately raised his head when he heard a rustling in front of him. And behind a tree, Daiki could see Taiga looking at him with a guilty face. He was standing too far away to start a conversation, but the redhead made no move to get closer to him.

"Taiga..." Daiki already felt his insides breaking upon seeing him like that, Taiga knew what was up. And Daiki feared what would happen, he was scared to find out that Taiga, _his_ Taiga, his cute and sincere boyfriend had never been existing.


	39. The fading light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never had so many problems writing a chapter before, drama doesn't seem to be my strength ^^°  
> But after reading and rewriting it several times, I think it's focused well enough on Daiki's feelings.  
> Hope you enjoy it!

"Taiga..."  
Where have you been?  
Why did you run away?

_Who are you?_

As if the redhead could read his mind, he still looked at Daiki with that caught expression, making himself as small as possible. Daiki had the feeling he was just about to hide behind the tree again, Taiga's fingers were cramped around its bark.

The snow continued to fall silently, painting the forest floor slowly with white flakes. It let the area around them seem innocent but cold at the same time. Daiki's eyes were fixed on Taiga, waiting for him to make a move.

"Why don't you come closer?" he whispered when nothing happened. Taiga had heard him, of course he had and he warily let go of the tree to make a step in Daiki's direction. He waited until the redhead made another step, and then another. The footprints he was leaving were barely visible in the thin layer of snow.  
Taiga didn't come closer than ten feet, his shoulders slumped as he stared at the ground.  
He _knew_ something was up...

" _Do you have another explanation why he doesn't get too close to you?"_

Daiki started to approach Taiga, but as soon as he crossed the distance of five feet, the redhead made a step back. He looked scared as if Daiki were to harm him if he was close enough.

"What's wrong, Taiga? You hugged me this morning, and now you're distancing yourself..." Daiki muttered, standing still once again.

"I'm sorry, Daiki..." were the first words Taiga said to him, his voice tiny and quiet.

"I'm sorry, I cant-... I just can't..." The redhead shortly looked up into his face.

"You're always apologizing, but you never explain why..." Daiki mumbled bitterly and all his hope suddenly vanished as he looked at Taiga. It wasn't that obvious, but there was something on his cheek that Daiki could only identify as blood. He didn't say anything as he felt disappointment, anger and a certain amount of fear rising inside him, he wanted to see how long Taiga was able to keep up the lies.

"Taiga, I'm worrying about you. Why did you just leave like that?"  
The redhead looked at him nervously as he brushed the snow off his hair.

"Akashi... said I should inspect the forest. And he also threatened me to stay away from you..." He was averting his eyes, not able to make eye contact with Daiki. Maybe he was lying, but what he said sounded plausible.

"Why are you still staying away from me now?"

"I... He, I mean..." Taiga looked around panically. He couldn't have an answer for that, at least not one that would satisfy Daiki.

"But what's the problem? What if I just walk up to you and hug you?" Daiki made a grimace when Taiga shook his head violently. But even though he'd signalized him to not come any closer, Daiki approached him again.

"D-Daiki, stop!" Like before he stepped backwards.

"Why?" He ignored him and the fear in his eyes.

"This... This isn't funny!" Taiga's back hit the tree trunk he'd been hiding behind before.

"Who said it is?" Daiki was sure he had cornered him now, but the next moment he looked at Taiga, the redhead was gone. Spotting a movement, Daiki flinged his head aside where Taiga was standing farther away from him than before.

"What the fuck..." he breathed, having underestimated how fast the other could be.

"Taiga... Why are you doing this?" Daiki wore a sad expression, one that he was sure of would break the redhead.

"I'm your boyfriend! And I said I'd always love you, so why are you running away from me...?" His own words hurt so much, Daiki could cry.

"Daiki..." Taiga's eyes were teary and his lips began quivering. If he was going to tell him everything right now or would dodge it again, Daiki was never going to find out. That moment he ran towards the redhead, taking him by surprise and leaving him no time to react as he tackled him to the ground.

Daiki's face was hovering right over Taiga's whose eyes were wide in shock. It took him a few seconds to free his hands and quickly cover his mouth and nose, he even squinted his eyes together tightly. Daiki held onto his shoulders with a frown, waiting for the other to do something.

"Please, Daiki..." His words were muffled by his hands and high due to his panic.

"Please stay away. I don't want to hurt you!" His whole body was shaking and tensing, but Daiki remained where he was.

"Why would you hurt me?"

"Daiki, I beg you!" Taiga opened his watery eyes and a single tear was rolling down his cheek. Daiki's heart was aching at the sight, he wanted to embrace Taiga and tell him everything was going to be alright, but now he couldn't. Not anymore.  
Daiki finally retreated when the redhead began to stare intently at his neck.

"You said you owe me the truth, an explanation!" His own voice was shaking slightly as he took his distance again. But Taiga kept his mouth shut, his gaze lowered to the ground as he slowly stood up again.

"Why don't you trust me?" Daiki raised his voice, he started to have enough of this.

"Because..." Taiga's voice was trembling again.

"Because if I told you... I knew you wouldn't love me anymore..." There was a brief pause before he continued.

"You know it already, do you...?" Taiga looked so vulnerable, so weak and small. Daiki had to close his eyes to not give in and comfort the redhead.

"Akashi told me," he responded quietly. Taiga exhaled shakily, letting out a guttural sound as he sank to the ground as if he'd lost all his energy. He started to cry quietly, his tears streaming down his face as he began whimpering, the small noises of despair and hopelessness were breaking Daiki's heart.

His feet were moving on their own, he went over to his crying boyfriend who was lying on the ground, kneeling down next to him. Daiki warily placed one hand on his shoulder, causing Taiga to flinch. He hiccuped as he tried to stop the tears, his face laying on the cold forest floor as his body was slowly covered by snow.

"Do you hate me now?" Taiga whispered weakly, not daring to look at Daiki who hesitated to answer.

"I don't know..." He decided to be honest, taking a few steps back.

"But... But you promised!" the redhead cried.

"You promised to never leave me! You said you'll always love me!"

"I wouldn't have promised it if I had known that you've been lying to me the entire time!" Daiki shouted back angrily. Taiga winced upon hearing those harsh words.

"I... I didn't want you to think bad of me! Daiki... please!"

"But now I am, well done! I know you killed that guy from Durmstrang, I know how often you lied to me, although _you_ promised to tell me the truth!" he roared, making Taiga tear up once again, curling himself up on the ground.

"I know what you've been doing in the Room of Requirement. I saw it."  
The redhead stopped breathing at hearing those words and he wasn't moving anymore.

"You killed all of them, didn't you?" Daiki tried to stay calm, but his hands were shaking and he was shuddering. Taiga slowly stood up with his back to Daiki, letting his head fall against a tree trunk. It didn't take more than a few seconds for Daiki to hear him crying again, hitting his head against the tree in frustration. But this time he didn't walk over to him, he remained where he was to wait for Taiga to answer his question.

"I..." he hiccuped, making his voice hitch.

"I knew this moment would come. I just... I just wanted to enjoy as much time as possible with you until it would all be over..." The redhead sniveled, clenching his hands to fists.

"I-it was nice to talk about marriage, how we'd live together after school, how you said you'd kiss me everyday... But it hurt to know those things were never going to happen. It hurt to know that one day this moment would come where you'd push me away..."

"Taiga..." So he'd feared this day the entire time, he'd always known that this was going to happen.

"I... I don't want to be hungry anymore..." Taiga whimpered.

"But you already... ate, didn't you?" Daiki asked warily, causing Taiga to turn around to him.

"H-how do you-..."  
Daiki pointed at his cheek, making the redhead feeling his own. His eyes widened in horror when he finally noticed the blood.

"Why?" Daiki muttered.

"I need... more than a normal vampire, a disadvantage of having a living body..." Taiga pointedly avoided eye contact.

"What about normal food... You told me cheeseburgers were your favorite," Daiki's breath slightly fastened.

"No. Everything tastes the same. As if I'm chewing on air. If I had to eat an apple and a pancake with closed eyes, I wouldn't be able tell which one is which. The nutrients are useless, I can eat as much as I want and I'm still hungry. I still hoped... somehow that if I maybe eat enough, I wouldn't need to... to..." Taiga couldn't continue as his voice gave in. Daiki couldn't help, but feel pity for him. He didn't have it easy, whatever he tried.   
Taiga was wiping his eyes with his sleeve before he slowly outstretched his arms.

"Daiki, I love you. I love you so much and I'll never stop loving you! That is why... I can't hurt you..." Taiga's arms started trembling as he forced a smile between all those tears.

"Could you... hug me? One last time?" He gulped, waiting for Daiki to move, his arms still reaching out for him. Daiki didn't know what to do, his heart was beating wildly and he felt how his own eyes began to water.   
Of course he wanted to hug him, he wanted to embrace him, comfort him, tell him that he was forgiven... but...  
Taiga was still smiling at him as Daiki slowly approached him, but he stopped in his tracks.  
He was a liar, he had killed all those people Daiki had seen in the Room of Requirement.

"How could you murder them like that?"  
Taiga's smile fell and he retreated his arms, knowing that Daiki would never hug him again.

"I just want to live..." he whispered.

"That's your excuse for taking other people's lives?" Daiki asked dryly.

"Y-you don't understand. They were prisoners from Azkaban that were sentenced to death anyway!"

"But I still don't understand!" Daiki felt how his own tears were rolling down his face.

"Why didn't you just wish for blood only when you were in front of the room? Why did it have to be humans?!"

"What... What are you talking about? Professor Shirogane told me this was the only way to use the Room of Requirement!" Taiga's scared expression got mixed with a confused one.

"Huh...? So you thought there was only... That's why Dumbledore wasn't concerned about it. How could he know you were slaughtering people instead..." Daiki murmured bitterly with a frown on his face.

"Daiki, I told you those were criminals!" Taiga tried to convince him desperately.

"Yeah? Is that also something this Shirogane told you?"  
The redhead stared at him with wide eyes.

"What..."

"I heard he's Durmstrang's Dark Arts teacher. Why would you think he cares who those people were? How do they get into Hogwarts anyway?" Daiki scowled.

"There's a vanishing cabinet I fixed..." Taiga muttered, letting his head hang down.

"So that's how it works. Whenever you're hungry, Shirogane sends people from the other side. Don't you understand?! He could've just picked them from the street!" Daiki gritted his teeth, staring at Taiga who gasped for air, his breathing somehow getting out of control.

"B-but... Why would he do that...? Professor Shirogane took care of me after my parents' death, he was always nice to me... why would he...?" Taiga had to lean against a tree, his knees threatening to give in.

"If I could have just wished for blood like you said... I wouldn't have had to... But why did he lie?!" he continued, raising his voice as he banged his head against the tree, whimpering not only at the pain.

"I don't know, apparently that Dark Arts teacher is a psychopath! But that's not even the point!" Daiki's voice started quavering as he could see the mass of dead people right in front of his eyes.

"Daiki..."

"The point is that you killed them! As much as you want to blame that demented professor, it was _you_ who killed all those people! It was _you_ who freaking murdered them, and it was _you_ who just heartlessly piled them on top of each other, making place for more!" He didn't notice at first that he was screaming those words right at him, his anger and frustration having taken over.

"No... No, I didn't want to... I didn't mean to..." Taiga backed off a bit as he started crying again, covering his face with one hand while the other searched something to hold onto.

"I would've never thought you're able to do something like that," Daiki whispered irritably, his voice full of despise.

"No one who's mentally healthy could ever kill people the way you do, just moving on with your life as if it was nothing!! Do you think about who they were?? Do you even rue what you're doing?? Or is this fun to you?!" Daiki spat contemptuously, causing the redhead to look at him startled before his face also contorted into anger.

"Of course I'm regretting it! I don't want this either! I swear if there was another way, I'd have taken it! Do you think this is easy for me?!" Taiga raised his voice, it was shaking and broke several times, but he locked his eyes with Daiki's.

"Then there _has_ to be another fucking way! Isn't there a spell to make you eat normal food, maybe Satsuki can help!" Daiki shouted out of despair.

"I'm a fucking vampire, Daiki! I'm cursed and no one could ever change that!" Taiga snapped, the tree's bark slowly crumbling and breaking under his grip.

"Then what about blood from animals or even your own?! You don't have to kill people for it!!" Daiki hissed furiously, but flinched when the tree Taiga had been holding onto cracked. He'd pressed his jaw together tightly as he was glaring at Daiki.

"Don't you think I tried?! I have to carry this burden my entire life already, and believe me I've tried everything! I almost killed myself accidently once because I refused to feed on people's blood!" Taiga roared, his pupils having formed into slits while his red irises seemed to glow. Daiki maybe regretted what he said next, but he was angry, so freaking angry, the words just flew out of his mouth.

"Maybe it would've been better this way. In the eyes of the ministry you're belonging to the dangerous specimens of your race that must be eliminated, not even Dumbledore can do something if they get you!" Daiki didn't notice that he was crying again, but the thought of Taiga, _his_ Taiga being taken away by the ministry hurt...  
Taiga's mouth fell open at his words, he was staring at Daiki unbelieving.

"So you want me... to die?" he muttered blankly, and Daiki wished he could take it back. Taiga gritted his teeth as he looked at the ground, and Daiki imagined to see his tears falling into the snow.

"No..." Daiki finally whispered.

"No. But after everything we did together, after everything we went through... How could you lie to me like that..."

"If I told you earlier, your reaction would've been the same, right...?" Taiga looked completely wrecked, his eyes glistening and his cheeks red from crying.

"I don't know..." Daiki admitted, wondering if his tears would ever run out.

"I was close to telling you once, but I was too scared when you started talking about vampires after Snape's lecture. You said their existence is useless and how all of them simply are murderers. I didn't want you to think of me like that!"

"But that's the truth! They're undead and evil, every child knows that!" Daiki growled.

"I wasn't planning on being evil, goddamnit!" Taiga shouted back.

"But you are, don't you understand?! Someone who kills can't be a good person, and you're far from it!"

"That's not true! I... I didn't want to be like that! I'd give everything to be like you or everyone else! Why don't _you_ understand that I can't do anything against it?!" Taiga snarled at him and Daiki stumbled backwards upon seeing his fangs.

"What... How?" he stared at him in shock, warily reaching for his wand. Taiga figured what he'd seen and quickly closed his mouth before answering.

"It's a spell, simple but effective. If you don't know it, you're not aware of it..."

"B-but we kissed!" Daiki panicked.

"You didn't know," Taiga replied regrettably.

"Fuck!" he cursed loudly.

"Daiki, I'm sorry..." The redhead whimpered, carefully making a step in Daiki's direction.

"Don't come any closer!" Daiki shakily directed his wand at Taiga whose eyes widened.

"You lied and killed and now I'm still supposed to trust you?! Who the fuck are you even?! Because the person I fell in love with is someone else!"

"But there never was someone else..." Taiga winced, staying where he was to not provoke Daiki further.

"Then I thought there was. When Akashi told me the truth, I really hoped he was wrong. I wished for you to tell me something else, but... It seems like I was in love with an illusion," Daiki gritted his teeth, still aiming at Taiga.

"No! No, Daiki, you weren't! Please, believe me!" Taiga tried to convince him, raising his hands to calm him down.

"Believe you?! Are you fucking serious?! Who guarantees that you're not going to tear my throat apart any second?!" Daiki scoffed.

"I... love you, Daiki. I could never-..."

"How could someone like you know what love is?!" he yelled, making Taiga flinch.

"B-but I'm telling the truth! I fell in love with you and I proved it so many times! There's nothing more important than you!" The redhead made himself small again as if he was trying to look harmless.

"And how am I supposed to trust someone who's playing with human lives like that?! You killed a person for no other reason than jealousy!"

"It was an accident!" Taiga cried.

"That's quite a lot of accidents!! Just tell me, who had to kick the bucket before I found you?? Someone who randomly walked by?!" Daiki growled furiously. Taiga didn't respond, his eyes were flickering and he was breathing shakily.

"Leave..." Daiki hissed, the redhead looking up at him with a startled expression.

"Get lost!!" he yelled, causing Taiga to jump back in shock.

"Daiki, I..."

"I never want to see your fucking face again, so do me a favor and fuck off!!"

"Daiki..." Taiga whined with tears in his eyes, trying to approach him against Daiki's will.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry! I never wanted anything of this to happen, please... Daiki... C-can we at least be friends... please..." he sounded despaired, but Daiki had already made his decision.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" He almost tripped when Taiga got closer to him, causing Daiki to throw a spell at him in panic that sent him flying backwards. Hitting the ground with a pained groan, Taiga picked himself up again, snow and leaves sticking to his robe.

"Daiki..." His lips were trembling.

"I'm counting to three..." Daiki panted, his voice rough and threatening.

"No, Daiki..." Taiga begged, sobs escaping his throat.

"One."

"Please..."

"Two."  
Taiga continued to cry, his entire face wet from his tears and Daiki felt his own vision blurring from the water in his eyes.

"Three." He was able to see one last pleading look inside Taiga's eyes, his beautiful red orbs that usually were so bright, full of joy and... love.

"Sectumsempra!"  
Taiga threw himself aside just the right moment, the spell hitting a tree behind him, making its surface burst. Daiki was shocked himself for a moment as he realized what he'd just tried to do.   
The redhead was on his feet again, a look of utter horror on his face like he'd never expected Daiki to do this to him. Not again.

He waited for Taiga to get furious, to attack him, but when the redhead looked at Daiki, he could only see disappointment and sadness. Almost like a puppy that just noticed its owner wanted to get rid of it. Taiga stared at him a bit longer, not able to stop the tears, his eyes already inflamed and Daiki was sure his own didn't look any different.

"I understood," the redhead muttered, his gaze dulling, making his eyes look empty.  
And then he was gone, just like that. Daiki heard the rustling of leaves, being able to see Taiga's footprints in the snow. His immense speed almost made it seem like he vanished without moving, and Daiki still didn't know how fast he really could be.  
But the most important fact was that he was gone.  
Maybe forever.  
Maybe Daiki would never see him again.  
Just like he'd wished.

Daiki fell back against a tree as his legs gave in, dropping his wand as he sank to the ground. His back supported by the trunk, he looked up into the sky, seeing nothing but white. Snow was continuing to fall, melting on his face and mixing with his tears that were silently running down his cheeks. Daiki was shocked, his body was shaking uncontrollably as he kind of had a Déjà-vu. He'd felt the same after having hit Taiga with _Sectumsempra_ in the bathroom of the seventh floor, every emotion from back then was impacting on him all over again right now.

He hadn't hurt Taiga physically this time, but... he was gone... Daiki remembered how he'd feared for the redhead's life back in Hogwarts and now it just felt like he died. His redhead had died, his image of his cute and sincere boyfriend had died, and with him his playful eyes, his deep comforting voice and the smile that Daiki came to love the most.  
All of that was gone now.

His mind blacked out while tears were continuing to fall into the snow, and he held his hand out to catch them, just to see how they faded away in his palms.  
It had always seemed so naturally to have Taiga around him, to have him close to his side, always there when he needed comfort, Daiki hadn't noticed how the redhead became the center of his life. And now that center was missing which made him feel like a broken compass needle.   
Useless and lost.  
As if there were no things in his life that he could enjoy anymore, because of everything he thought had always to do with Taiga.

A part of him wasn't there anymore, he felt ridiculously incomplete. Daiki had been able to live without loving someone before so why couldn't he now...?  
The realization of his loss was hitting him hard and way too fast. His quiet sobs turned into despaired crying, his breath stuck in his throat like a giant lump he couldn't swallow. It hurt like hell and a headache began to make his head throbbing painfully from all the crying. Daiki's hands were freezing as they were lying in the snow, but he wasn't able to lift his arms.   
He wanted to sleep, to forget all this, to wake up and find out he'd been in a nightmare. And then Taiga would hug him like earlier and-...

No one would hug him. Not today, not tomorrow, never again. After what Daiki had done, having clearly symbolized that he wanted Taiga to vanish out of his life, he'd never come back. Even if they were to meet again, they wouldn't be able trust each other anymore. Everything Daiki had worked for, making Taiga forgive him, making him fall in love with him, it all had been for nothing but a painful memory.

It was a reminder that he'd had the best time of his life with Taiga. He'd found someone who was worthy enough to be his rival, to hang out with him... to hug him, to kiss him... to be close to him whenever Daiki wanted.   
But now it were a few mere minutes since Taiga was gone, since Daiki had fully realized he wouldn't come back.

The redhead hadn't left him the chance to run after him, to maybe change his mind and hold him back. He'd lost all hope, doing Daiki a last favor; Staying away from him.  
Daiki regretted his choice, although he tried to tell himself it was for the best. On one side he immediately wanted his boyfriend back, but on the other side... now that he knew the truth...  
Daiki stubbornly refused to understand that Taiga wasn't the way he wished him to be, that he'd never be able to look into his eyes without seeing the people he'd killed. He wanted this ugly truth to be wrong, but the world wasn't working this way and life was cruel.

Daiki still couldn't move, he didn't want to move. He was tired and exhausted, maybe if he fell asleep now, he'd never wake up again, escaping the horrible reality.  
His mind was filled with pictures of Taiga, his happy face when Daiki had confirmed they were friends, his blush during their first kiss...  
It hurt. It hurt as if his heart was torn into two halves.  
Taiga was gone and there was no chance he'd return to Daiki. Not this time.

Distant shouting was breaking the silence, worried voices echoing through the bleak forest. Of course the others were searching for him and Taiga right now, having only seen them disappearing between the trees. But even though he heard them shouting his name, he didn't move a finger. It didn't matter to him if they found him or not, a feeling of indifference was overcoming him, and Daiki just continued to stare at the snow, his clothes soaking the longer he was lying on the white ground.   
The few sun rays getting through the clouds and trees let the snow glisten beautifully.   
Just like Taiga's eyes, Daiki thought, not able to blink as he stared.

The voices grew louder, yelling his name in fear. But Daiki closed his eyes, his head leaned against the cold bark.   
Why couldn't it all have been different?


End file.
